Define: Normal
by Becomingwhaturmeantobe
Summary: The Daughtry family isn't normal, far from it, but to save the lives of their old families and new one they have to pretend to be, which is going to be hard for a Slayer and a Hunter. SPNBTVS Crossover
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:**This originally started out as a Buffy story, but I got hooked and am now in love with Supernatural so I figured why not do a crossover? I hope everyone enjoys, and any ideas and comments you might have please share! I'll try to update asap if everyone approves so please read and review. Thanks and happy Holidays!

"Normal things don't happen to extraordinary people. "- Brianna Robinson

The silence of the Daughtry home was broken when the phone rang in the kitchen. The youngest Daughtry daughter, Celia picked it up and said, "Hello?"

The voice on the other end spoke quickly and quietly so Celia, only six, had to say, "What?" a couple times. When the speaker was done. Celia whispered "Okay."

"Mommy!" Celia yelled putting the phone down on the marble countertop and running into the foyer where the stairs were. "Mommy, there's someone on the phone for you!"

"Alright, Sweetie." A voice answered back and Celia entered the kitchen again and picked up the phone and hung it up. Satisfied, she went back to the family room to watch Saturday Morning cartoons.

Sarah Daughtry picked up the phone and greeted the voice. She couldn't think who would be calling so early. "Sarah?" A voice asked on the phone and then paused before continuing. "Is it safe to talk?" Sarah hesitated, she knew that the three children in her house could enter anytime and hears the conversation they were having.

"Yeah, one minute." She said and walked slowly to the door and closed it. She knew her children would know that their Mother was having an important conversation and knock before entering.

"Ok." She said to the person on the other line.

"How are you?" The voice asked and she shrugged to herself and sat on her king sized bed.

"Good." She said, knowing this was true.

"I'm glad, and the kids? Your husband?" Sarah flicked her hair back and paused.

"My kids are good, they're doing well. And um, my husband is um good." She spit out.

"Good, Good." The person on the other line said.

"Are you comfortable?"

"Yeah, I am. Thank you." Sarah told him.

"Is something wrong?" The voice asked her.

"No, everything's good. Normal." She said and smiled at the last word.

"So no problems?" He asked, casually.

"Nope." Sarah said, playing with her robe's sash.

"Do you like it there?"

Sarah leaned on the pillows. "Yes, I do."

"Good, Good." The man said, and Sarah could hear the tiniest bit of that Grandfather voice she was used to.

There was silence and Sarah knew the pleasant part of the conversation was over. She braced herself for what he would say next.

"But, I need to talk to you in person."

"Ok." She answered, personally she was still a little fuzzy on everything and wanted him to clear everything up.

"Can I come by the house this afternoon?" He asked.

"Yeah, that would be good." She said trying to think if she had anything planned.

"Alright, see you then." He said to her and she said her goodbyes and hung the phone up.

She then took a shower and got into jeans and a t-shirt and went downstairs.

Her youngest daughter, Celia, middle daughter Isabella and oldest son Aidan were waiting for her in the kitchen. They were all leaning around the marble and wood Island.

She smiled at them. "Who wants pancakes?" She asked them.

After the feast of pancakes they had they all cleaned up. Aidan was washing, Isabella was drying and Celia and Sarah were putting away. After they finished, they all sat on the overstuffed couch in the family room.

Sarah turned to her children. "What's the plans for today, guys?'

Isabella shrugged. "Hang out?"

Sarah smiled and tickled Celia. "Well I know that your father wants to go out to dinner later. So if you want to relax and hang out that's fine. What about you Aidan?"

"I don't care. I'm up for anything." Aidan replied.

"Mommy, can we rent movies?" Celia asked.

"Sure Ceil we can rent movies" Sarah said and looked at her kids.

"Aidan, do you want to go to the movie store and pick up?" She turned to Celia. "What movie sweetheart?"

Celia jumped up on the couch. "A scary one! A vampire movie!" She said.

"All right, how about i The Little Vampire/i " Sarah asked and when her youngest nodded she turned to her son. "You should know where that is." She smirked at him, knowing the movie was a family classic.

Aidan walked out and she turned. "Get something for yourself and Izzy, do you want a movie?"

Isabella got up. "I'm going to go with him, is that okay?"

"Yeah." Sarah said getting up and kissing both of her children. "Just be careful okay?"

"Okay." Aidan said.

"Okay." Isabella answered.

Sarah went to the front door and watched them pull out of the long drive way and then she turned and went back to her youngest.

"Mommy, where do baby's come from?" Celia asked and Sarah stopped dead.

_Oh Boy._

"Why do you ask sweetie?" Sarah said calmly sitting down next to her adorable six years old.

"'Cause, there's Aidan and then Izzy and then me, but there's nobody after me and I want to ask whoever makes baby's to give me a brother or sister." Celia said.

"Well, sweetheart Mommy and Daddy are perfectly fine with having three beautiful children. And you are our youngest and we love you very much." Sarah said after letting go of the air she was holding in. She was prepared for this kind of question, just not today.

"Oh, Okay." Celia said and went back to watching TV.

She took in a deep breath and went into the laundry room, hoping there was something in there to keep her hands busy.

When she was done with two loads of laundry, Aidan and Isabella came home.

"What'd you get?" Sarah asked.

"My Little Vampire for Ceil, Two fast two furious for me, and Cruel Intentions for Izzy." Aidan said.

"What are these movies rated?" Sarah asked.

Izzy and Aidan shrugged and went to their rooms. Sarah took _ The Little Vampire _ from them and put it on, for a delighted Celia.

"Are you going to watch it with me Mommy?" Celia asked her.

"Yes, Honey, I'm going to watch it with you." Sarah said grabbing some blankets from a chest on the other side of the couch. She put the movie in, grabbed the flicker and sat down.

Celia leaped up from the couch, "Cookies and Milk, I almost forgot!"

Sarah smiled and got up and walked into the kitchen. It was a tradition to eat cookies and milk while watching a movie, especially this one. Celia got out the cookies and the Milk. Poured three glasses. One for Celia, Sarah…"And Teddy!" Celia explained. Another tradition was to pour milk for whatever stuffed animal was around. Usually, six or seven extra cups were poured.

Carefully carrying the tray, like a big girl, Celia set it down on the table in front of the couch and Sarah pressed play. Like Mother, Like Daughter Sarah and Celia both took a cookie and dunked it in their milk. "Yum." Celia said.

It was half way through the movie when the doorbell rang. Sarah got up, much to her daughter's displeasure and answered it.

A man dressed simply stood in front of her and before she could say something he let out a deep breath and said, " _ Buffy _ ."

Buffy looked straight at the man and then stepped aside to let him in. He walked in and looked around as if seeing if anything was wrong. She walked down the hallway and paused, knowing that Celia wouldn't come out unless the movie ended, or if she called her and even that was hard.

Buffy led him into the huge kitchen and he sat at the large table. "Would you like anything, coffee, tea?" She said politely and then muttered. "A beer?" she smirked.

"Tea please."

"What is with you people and tea? Why not a good cup of coffee?" She said going over to one of the cabinets and getting out two mugs and then setting a pot of water on the stove. She went over to the refrigerator, which was covered with report cards and pictures, and got out milk.

"Because coffee makes you tense and tea-."

"Is calm and you wish to be calm?" Buffy guessed setting the mugs and milk on the table and sitting down.

"How are you?" He asked once again.

"I'm good." She said, because she was. "But then some days I wake up and realize that I'm not with them and then I go downstairs and then I see my children and I'm okay." She said smiling. But then her smile faded and her face-hardened.

"You don't have to hate me Buffy." He said looking down at his mug.

"I know, but I feel like you took me away from them."

"We had to, for your safety and theirs."

"I know."

"I'm sorry."

"I know." She said and sighed and picked up the mugs and poured the hot water in them and got out tea bags.

She set the mugs on the table and sat down again. He poured the milk in his mug and she got up and got some sugar.

He sipped his tea and then set it down. He looked at her as if wanting to say something but not being sure how or if he should. She knew the look all too well, all her life people were always looking at her, wanting to say something but not being able to say it.

"What?" she said resting her chin on her hand that was propped up on the table.

"Something…has happened."

She looked up from her cup and her eyes scanned wildly over his face.

"No, nothing about your family they are fine…"

She let out the breath she had been holding onto. "But?"

He stared at her for a couple minutes. "Do you remember the night I came to you?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

He took a deep breath. "There are others, other slayers if you will out there. They call themselves hunters."

Buffy nodded. "Okay?"

"There's a family of hunters, The Winchesters, and well one of them, Dean, is in the same situation as you."

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "Which means?"

He skipped a beat before talking. "He's your husband."

"What?"

"His mother was killed by a demon when he was a child. His father has been hunting the demon since and so have his sons. They came across this demon and to protect them and to later save the world, he will be staying here with you and the children."

"So why not just intervene, why does he come here?"

"Because if he doesn't his father will die and we cannot loose another. Dark is over powering us Buffy, we need to make a move."

She nodded. "What happens to-?"

"Your husband?" He cut in. "He was never real…we knew we were going to do this, we just figured it would be better to ease you into a more normal setting."

Buffy raised her eyebrows. "Yeah, okay."

"He'll probably be confused, not understand but he'll ease into it. He's a strong one, and I think you'll like him."

Buffy stared at him. "When will he-."

"You'll know soon enough." He smiled and got up.

"Thank you for the tea, Mrs. Daughtry." He said and walked toward the foyer. She got up and followed him.

"I'll talk to you soon." He promised and she nodded. He gave a small wave to Celia who poked her head from the family room.

He left and she closed the door after him and turned to her youngest.

"Mommy? When's Daddy getting home?" The little girl asked and Buffy wondered if this Dean Winchester had any affect on the child's looks.

"Soon, sweetie." Was all she could answer.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Hope you guys enjoy!**

Dean Winchester expected to wake up to bright light from the overhead lights in a hospital room. That, or he didn't expect to wake up at all. People usually didn't survive their heart being pulled out of their chest and a major car accident. The only thing he hoped was that his Dad and Sam were okay and that he ended up in a somewhat good place. When he opened his eyes, though, he realized that wasn't happening.

He squinted immediately at the sunlight shining through the window and shifted his position in the seat. He wasn't sitting in the back anymore, and as he surveyed the car, he realized he wasn't even sitting in the Impala.

His eyes fully open now, Dean took in the area around him. What he saw startled him. How did he get here, especially from an abandoned back road?

All around him were houses, no mansions on huge pieces of property with landscaping that looked like the Botanical Gardens and four or five Jags and Mustangs in each driveway.

"How the hell-?"

"Did you end up here?" A voice added next to him.

Dean jumped and turned to the passenger seat. A man who wore clothes that looked like something the Angel in that Christmas Movie might wear. "Who the hell are you?" He snapped and reached for his back pocket.

"I won't hurt you." The man said, with a slight smile on his face.

"Yeah, I'll be the judge of that." He said and moved his hand alone his back. Where was his gun, and what happened to his jeans?

"You won't find your gun." The man said, his voice calm and annoying.

"Yeah?" Dean said and glanced down. He wasn't wearing his clothes, he was wearing a, he couldn't help but grimace, a suit.

The man looked out at the window toward the house that the car was parked in front of. "This is your new home."

His eyebrows knit together as he glanced toward the house in front of him. "Yeah, right."

"By doing this, you're saving your family, and the world."

"What do you mean?"

The man sighed. "I want to show you something,"

Dean raised his eyebrows as the man reached out and touched his temple with both hands. With a flash he saw images.

_He saw himself lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to a ventilator, he saw his Dad and Sam fighting, he saw his heart giving out only to be brought back, he saw his dad making a deal with the demon, he saw himself waking up, he saw his dad coming in and talking and whispering something in his ear, he saw his dad die, he heard the time of death, he saw him and Sam burning the body, smelled the burning flesh, felt bile rise in his throat, felt a tear roll down his cheek, saw him punch Sam, saw him and Sam fighting, felt worry and grief and anger, be saw himself shoot someone, heard someone tell him Sam was infected, felt anger and fear, he saw himself give his keys to a guy told them to leave, he felt grief and then blackness. _

He opened his eyes with a gasp. The man was staring intently at him, "You can stop all that by staying here."

Dean nodded, slowly. "What's the catch?"

"You have to live in this house, under a new identity. You cannot have any contact with your family or anyone else you once new. Everyone will believe you have died."

Dean furrowed his brow but the man only continued. "They'll be fine. We can change your appearance and memories if you find it tempting to contact them."

At that Dean shook his head. "No."

The man nodded. "Okay." He took a deep breath and gestured toward the house. "This is your home. You are Daniel Patrick Daughtry, you are a lawyer-."

Dean snorted. "Sammy was supposed to be the lawyer."

"Well, we figured we'd give you something you might be interested in."

"I'd be interested in being the World Poker Champ." Dean told him and shook the man shook his head.

"It can't have anything to do with your previous life, anything that will draw attention. Think of this as a Witness Protection Program."

Dean nodded. "But a lawyer…"

The man shrugged. "You also own a business in NYC. You have a Wife, Sarah Daughtry and three children, Aidan, Isabella and Celia."

Dean nodded slowly but didn't say anything.

The man nodded. "Buffy will explain everything else to you."

"Buffy?" Dean asked.

"Oh yes, I should have called her Sarah. Buffy is in the same predicament as you. She is a Vampire Slayer."

"A vampire Slayer?" Dean raised his eyebrows.

"Yes, she'll explain everything else. Any questions, just ask her. I'll be in to check on you periodically." He said and gave a little smile.

Dean scratched his head and looked toward the house. When he looked back again the man was gone. "Great." He muttered.

He looked around for a couple minutes. He could just take the car and head out to find his Dad and Sam. He was just about to turn the key in the ignition when he heard something outside the car. He looked out the window and saw a little girl skipping down the driveway toward him. "Daddy!" She yelled happily.

He sighed and exited the car quickly. The little girl leapt into his arms as soon as he got out. "Whoa." He said. "Hi."

The little girl threw her arms around him and squeezed him. He awkwardly shifted her in his arms to get more comfortable and she wrapped her legs tighter around his waist.

"Hey." A voice said and he looked up to see a blonde woman coming toward him.

She reached them with a couple strides. She was beautiful, he reminded her, and of what memories he had of her, of his mother. She was graceful and maybe it was the blonde hair but he felt comforted. That must be his wife, please let that is his wife.

"Ceil, why don't you go tell Izzy and Aidan Daddy's home. And pause the movie to please? I'm sure Daddy wants to see it." Celia jumped down and ran to the house without another word.

The woman, Buffy he assumed or Sarah, watched her go. "My Little Vampire, family classic." She smiled and reached out her hand. "I'm Buffy, you must be Dean."

Dean reached out and touched her hand. "Yeah."

"Well, umm, how about we go inside. We can get the kids occupied, maybe go out to dinner or something and I can explain everything to you, okay?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah."

They walked to the door and Buffy opened it.

"Okay, well, Welcome Home." She said with a smile.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys! I hope that you enjoy this and that you keep reading and reviewing!**

Dean stepped through the threshold and into a spacious foyer, if you could call it that, Dean was pretty sure the title was great room. "Whoa." He couldn't help but muttering.

"Big, isn't it?" Buffy whispered from his side as she closed the door.

He nodded and smirked. "Yeah."

Buffy turned around and walked out of the foyer to what Dean could only assume was the kitchen. "How about we go into the kitchen? The kids will probably be down in a moment and we can decide what's for dinner and everything, get them settled. Then we can talk."

He nodded, sort of distractedly as he followed her down the long hallway. The house was nice, what he saw of it so far, but he couldn't imagine living in it. This was a house Sam would live in, and the thought of Sam made something hurt in the pit of his stomach. But he figured he would be able to find everything out as soon as he talked to this woman, his new wife, which along with everything else blew his mind.

The kitchen was just as the rest of the house was, huge. It was something you saw in one of those magazines. Idle for a family, good for a wife who could cook, it felt like home but it was modern and perfect for all of that new technology. All of the stuff that would have made him gag if not for the fact that there was more to this than met the eye, a lot more.

The cabinets were mahogany, no doubt costing enough money to make someone's eyes roll to the back of their head, along with a nice marble countertop. There was an island and a big fridge, decorated with report cards, drawings and family pictures, and other appliances that were all covered with the same mahogany. There was a table as well, that was big and comfy looking. Dean wondered who did the decorating.

Buffy nodded toward the table. "You can sit down if you want."

Dean walked over to the table and pulled out a chair. He looked out the French doors that led out to a deck and an impressive backyard with a pool and swing set.

Buffy walked over to the fridge. "Can I get you anything? Maybe a beer?"

"Huh, you think I'd need it?" He smirked as he turned to face her.

"I think anyone in our situation would." She joked and took out one and popped the top.

She handed it to him and he took it. "Thanks." He said and took a swig.

She came over to the table and wiped her hands on her pants and took a seat.

She was about to say something when the little girl from before came in, followed by an older girl and boy.

"Hey Daddy." The older girl said and came over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Hi." He said awkwardly and Buffy smirked at him.

"So, guys, your father has bit of a headache so we're going to stay in tonight. Is there anywhere you want go? Izz, did Jackie call you?"

The older girl, who must have been Isabella, nodded. "Yeah, can I sleep over?" She asked and her eyes shifted from Dean to Buffy.

Buffy thought about it for a second. "Yeah, its alright with me, how about you?" She asked, glancing at him.

He raised his eyebrows for a second before nodding. "Yeah, you can go."

Isabella smiled, which threw him off guard he knew that smile, but he just didn't know where from. He brushed it off as she came forward and gave them both a quick kiss before leaving. "I'm going to call Jackie and ask if her mom can come pick me up, okay?" She told them before heading upstairs.

Buffy nodded. "Okay." Then she turned her direction to Aidan. "How about you?"

The boy shrugged. "I don't know Mom, I kind of want to hang, maybe go outside and work on the 'Vette?"

Dean's eyes couldn't help but widen. "Corvette?"

"Yeah." Aidan nodded. "I know you've got a headache, but can't I just go out there for a little while, I can work by myself."

He couldn't help but smile. "Yeah."

He nodded and walked out. "Thanks dad." He called.

Dean leaned back in his chair.

"What about me?" A little voice piped up and Dean looked toward Celia.

"We didn't forget about you." Buffy added and the young girl went over to her and took a seat on her lap. "How about we finish watching i My little Vampire /i and we can make cookies?"

The little girl eagerly nodded and then frowned. "What about dinner?"

Buffy shook her head. "Ahh, dinner shminner, who needs dinner."

The little girl giggled. "You're funny Mommy." She threw her arms around Buffy and Buffy stood up and walked out of the kitchen with the little girl in her arms.

She stopped at the doorway. "You coming?" She asked Dean and he nodded and got up and followed them out of the kitchen.

About fifteen minutes later Dean and Buffy was on the couch and between them a six-year-old girl who was fast asleep.

Buffy smiled and brushed the hair away from the little girls face. "I think I should get her up to bed,"

Dean nodded and watched as Buffy picked Celia up and went out of the room. A couple minutes later she returned. She flipped on the light to the family room and Dean blinked a few times to adjust.

He looked around the room. "So, that guy-."

"Said, I'd explain everything to you?"

"Yeah."

She nodded. "Well, long story short? The PTBs sent us here to save the world, and to do that we have to be normal."

"And what are these PTBs?" Dean asked.

"The Powers that Be, they're like fate."

"Okay." Dean said. "I think I've got that."

Buffy nodded. "Okay, good. We basically are in a sort of Witness Protection Program. With new names and everything. You're Daniel Patrick Daughtry. You are married to me, Sarah Katherine Daughtry. We have three kids, Isabella Elizabeth, Celia Rose and Aidan Michael. Isabella's fifteen, Celia is six and Aidan is seventeen."

Dean nodded. "Okay." Then he paused. "How'd that happen?"

"Yeah, he explained it to me, something about a time change, so that it would seem real and so it can be harder for us to be found."

Dean stayed silent and nodded again; all he could do was nod.

"Umm, you're a lawyer, and we also own a business in New York City-."

Dean cut her off. "We're in New York?"

"Yeah." She nodded and continued.

"The kids are good kids. Aidan loves cars, especially the Vette he was talking about, and you and him have been working on it for a while. Izzy's a writer and she ice skates and Celia usually goes along with whatever we do but she likes to draw, and you can see it on the fridge."

"How long have you been here?" Dean asked.

"Three months." Buffy answered.

"How did you find everything out?"

"They add memories, sometimes I dream them, plus it helps to talk to the kids, and look around the house." She gave him a small smile. "I'll help you in whatever way I can, I know this is weird and trust me its not what I want to do but if this is really helping the world than, maybe it'll all work out. I've gotten used to the kids, I love them actually and it just all fits."

Dean stared at her. "Do you miss you're family?"

She answered right away. "Yes, all the time. But he comes and tells me how they are, not a lot but enough to make me think this might be the right thing. And trust me I don't normally agree with them, the PTBs, but I don't see why they would lie to me, they've put me through enough."

Dean just nodded. He had always been the protector of his family and if this was just another way of doing it, he might be okay with it, as long as that guy told him they were all right.

"So, what about you in real life?" Dean asked.

"I'm a vampire slayer." She told him. "I fight vamps, demons and other evil creatures. How about you?"

"The same, pretty much. My father and brother, we've been hunting for a while, we don't deal a lot with vamps, mostly spirits and demons."

"Oh, how did you, I mean, not many people choose to-."

He cut her off. "My mom died when I was little, my dad found out it wasn't normal and ever since we've been hunting the thing that killed her." He paused and shook his head. "Right before I came here, we found it. The thing that killed my mom, and…" He shook his head again. "I don't see what good this'll do. I should be with my family, they need me."

She nodded. "Yeah, I agree with you. Did he show you the future?"

Dean nodded.

"Yeah, me too. And I'm guessing that you're here for the same reason I am, you don't want whatever you saw to happen and you're afraid that if you don't do this, that'll happen." Buffy told him. She sighed and sat down on the couch, he joined her.

"Exactly."

"Yeah, aren't we the reluctant heroes." She said and laid back.

"Tell me about it." He answered and lay back with her.

"So we'll just have to see where this goes, huh?"

"Yeah, seems like."

"Okay."

"Okay."

Within five minutes they were both asleep, and the Daughtry house was quiet.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews! I'm glad you guys are reading and like it! Please keep reading and reviewing and I'll update ASAP. Thanks again!**

Comfort wasn't a feeling Dean was used to when he woke up. He was used to a hard mattress and a pillow that made his neck sore. But for the first time in a while he woke up feeling like he was home. The thought startled him, especially when he woke up to an unfamiliar place. There was no way that what he saw was part of some motel room he and Sam had found. Then he remembered that weird guy and seeing what was the supposed future and ending up here with-

He blinked as he looked to his left on the couch. His new wife, and yes that was still hard to believe, wasn't next to him. That was something he wasn't used to either, he was pretty much the one who was up first, but he had known that this woman wasn't like the ones he found in bars the moment he saw her. She was definitely going to kick his ass, and that brought a grin to his face.

He gently took the throw that had been placed on him, by her no doubt and stood up, surveying the room again. It was definitely the family room, pictures of all the kids adorned the walls, and crates of toys were against one wall by the windows and a huge entertainment center stood in front of the couch on the other wall. He went up to one of the pictures and did a double take; sure enough it was a picture of him, along with his three new children and wife. They were all smiling for the camera, on a beach, it was a black and white and it looked professionally done. But he noticed that they looked happy, and that they looked like they loved each other and that this was real.

But it wasn't. Which is what he tried to tell himself but as soon as he tried to convince himself that he didn't even remember the picture being taken he was sucked into a memory.

Aidan and himself had worn jeans, with white shirts, because they couldn't find any pants that didn't remind them of the Jeanie from Aladdin. The girls had worn white sundresses. Sarah, or Buffy, had made such a big deal about it because they were in Bermuda, and she wanted to take advantage of the gorgeous beaches and take a family picture. Even though he and Aidan joked about it, they understood and wanted the picture to. The photographer had reminded him of the wedding planner guy from i Father of the Bride /i , they had been watching it the previous night, and he pointed it out to his family. They all started laughing and in that moment the man took the picture. It turned out great, really great.

He shook his head for a second trying to erase it, but he knew he couldn't. This was all part of this new normal package. Memories and everything. He didn't try to remember anything else, for fear that taking to much to quickly would do something to his own actually memories. He did a quick count in his head of everything about himself, pushing away any new info.

"Bermuda, last year, I love that picture." A voice said behind him.

He turned and saw Buffy standing there, smiling at him.

"Yeah, I, um, remember."

"Don't you love that?" She commented sarcastically with a raise of her eyebrows.

"Yeah, its great. Do your old-."

She cut him off. "No, never. They wouldn't dare."

He nodded and looked around.

"Where are the kids?" He asked.

"Izzy's at Jackie's. Aidan's sleeping and Ceil is watching i My Little Vampire /i , again. I really think I should buy her that movie." Buffy told him.

He nodded, not knowing what to say.

She gestured to the kitchen. "Are you hungry? I make great pancakes."

His stomach growled in reply and she smirked. "Is that a yes?"

He nodded. "I guess so."

She led him into the kitchen and gestured toward a chair. "Sit, Mr. Daughtry."

He sat and watched as she went to the fridge and pulled out all the necessary ingredients and sat them on the counter. Then she went over to the island and grabbed a bowl.

"So…" He started but trailed off because all his good conversation starters were some kind of lie, he never really talked to a woman before, sure there was Cassie but that was different, this was his wife.

"So? What? Any questions? Comments? Do you remember anything else?"

Dean scratched his head, which he probably realized looked hysterical, he was never good with bed head, and shrugged. "I don't really want to know, this is all so…"

"New, weird, messed up? Yeah, I get it. Waking up one day and being able to recall what birth feels like is not that normal." Buffy told him and started stirring around the egg, milk and pancake mix.

He raised his eyebrows. "I can imagine."

"Yeah, well you were there." She smirked and turned away to pour the batter on the griddle.

His eyebrows furrowed at the thought and then, just like before he remembered each and every one of his children's births. Sympathy along with a new understanding set in for his own father.

"Uh huh. I remember." He answered her and she turned toward him.

"Funny shapes or circles?" She asked.

"Ummm." He started to say but then she saw that her gaze was toward the doorway.

"Funny shapes!" Celia said. The little girl was dressed in pajamas and slippers and she hugged her teddy.

"Okay baby." Buffy replied and grabbed the bowl to pour more on the griddle.

"Mornin' Daddy." Celia said and walked over to him and stood there. She smiled and then pushed off him so she could reach his cheek to give him a kiss.

"Morning Celia." He said with a smile.

The little girl went to the chair next to him and sat down. "What are we doing today Mommy?" She asked as Buffy came over with two plates and placed them in front of Dean and Celia.

"I don't know yet, sweetie, why?"

"I was just wondering."

"Okay, you were just wondering." Buffy went over to the griddle and poured the rest on.

Then she went over to a cabinet and pulled out syrup and placed it on the table and then went to the fridge and got the butter.

"What do you want to drink Ceil?" She asked.

"Orange Juice." The little girl said as she grabbed the syrup and poured it on the pancakes.

Buffy put the butter on the table and grabbed the orange juice from the fridge and poured some in a cup for Celia. "How about you?" She asked Dean as she went back to the table.

"I'll have some orange juice too, thank you."

"Welcome." Buffy said with a smile and poured him a glass. Then she went over to the griddle and took off the rest of the pancakes and set them on two separate plates.

She wiped her hands on a towel by the sink before walking out toward the hall. She got to

the stairs and yelled up them. "Aidan! Breakfast!"

She returned to the kitchen moments later and set the plate on the table next to Celia's chair. She then went over to the sink and rinsed the dishes and put them in the dishwasher.

She turned around just in time to see her seventeen year old shuffling in. He yawned. "Morning."

"Morning Aidan." Celia said between mouthfuls.

"Hey squirt." Aidan replied and sat down next to him, digging in to the pancakes.

"These are good Mom." Aidan told Buffy as he wolfed down the pancakes.

"Yeah, Mommy, very good." Celia added.

Buffy came to the table and sat down with her own plate and poured some syrup on it before cutting apiece off and chewing on it thoughtfully. "Yeah, I did do a good job this time didn't I?"

Dean nodded. "You did."

If she was trying to hide the small blush that crept up on her cheeks Dean didn't notice and she tried to hide it by pouring herself a glass of orange juice and turning away.

A couple minutes later, Aidan and Celia left to clear the table Dean followed Buffy upstairs. She showed him Izzy's room, Celia's room and Aidan's room.

Then she showed him the master bedroom that was huge. The bed was a king and it looked extremely comfortable. There were huge windows that lit and warmed the room, and the decorating had warmth and style. Dean never knew that all the things he thought useless could bring such a home like feeling to a place and he liked it, he could actually see himself living here.

Buffy showed him the closet, which was huge and showed him his clothes. He looked through everything; he found jeans, t-shirts, other shirts, pants, tuxes, suit everything that he would wear but nothing that he wore before. There was a black leather jacket that was nice but definitely not his brown leather jacket. The next thing she showed him was the master bath, it was bigger than the two other bathrooms in the house. It had a shower and a tub and two sinks and a toilet. Buffy joked on how this was definitely a step up, along with everything else, from her old life. Dean had to agree.

When they returned downstairs they heard giggling and found Celia being tickled by Aidan. "Mommy, Daddy, save me!" She said between giggles.

Dean and Buffy looked at each other and through some kind of silent parental communication they both joined Aidan in tickling the little girl. After about ten minutes of tickling all four of them ended up on the couch catching their breath.

Celia rested her head on Dean and he looked down at her. She reminded him of Sammy when he was little, so innocent and small. He wanted her to stay that way, curious and her biggest hero was her Daddy and Mommy and her brother called her squirt and her sister read her bedtime stories. Maybe this was a gift to be able to have a family to raise children, and not have them live in the world he grew up in. But there was Sammy, and his father, why couldn't they be apart of this? The kids should know their geeky uncle and grandfather? He swallowed hard, why did he have to trade one family for another?

The little girl looked up at him with big blue eyes. "It's okay, Daddy." She told him and put a hand on his shoulder.

He tilted his head for a second and looked over to Buffy who was smiling at them.

"How about we all get dressed?" She suggested and Aidan picked Celia up and carried her up the stairs.

They went back upstairs and Buffy grabbed a shirt and pair of pants, slipped them on and headed to the bathroom. "Be right out," She called to him.

"Okay." He answered and looked through his clothes. He settled on a brown long sleeve shirt and a pair of jeans. It resembled what he used to wear and he was comfortable with that.

Buffy came out moments later. He couldn't help but stare at her for a second. She wore a cream colored shirt and jeans, it was so simple but it was so beautiful and he silently thanked the PTB.

She looked at him for a second and smiled. "You look good." She said breathlessly, and mentally smacked herself in the head for sounding sixteen,

"You too." Was his reply and a smile.

Before anything else could be said there was a knock on the door and Celia burst in.

They both looked toward the door to see the little girl standing there wearing a cute white shirt and a skirt, with pink boots.

"Did I do good, Mommy?" She asked jumping up on the bed.

"Yes, Sweetie." Buffy replied kissing her on the top of the head. "You did great."

She picked the little girl up and carried her to the door and let her go. "We'll be right out, honey,"

"'Kay."

Buffy turned back toward Dean. "Do you feel like going to dinner? We can go pick of Izzy, go to an early dinner and then maybe go shopping, get you some stuff that you like? I know I want to pick up a few things."

Dean nodded. "Yeah, good idea."

"Okay." She nodded. "Do you like Italian? There's this great place, right across from the mall."

Dean nodded. "Sounds good to me."

Aidan, dinner, Buffy pov they grow closer


	5. Chapter 5

****

A/N:I'm sorry this chapter took so long, I had a bit of writer's block and some other things but I had a few minutes so I finished the chapter and updated. Thanks for all the reviews! Please keep reading and enjoy! I'll try to update soon!

"Mommy where are we going? To the sghetti restaurant?" Celia asked as she sat on overstuffed couch in the family room and kicked her legs back and forth.

"Yes Ceil."

"'Mmm." Celia said and bit her lip. "Can we get chocolate cake after, Daddy?"

Dean who had been staring off at a picture of Christmas, with a huge and real Christmas tree, which was a rarity when he was a kid, looked over at his daughter. "Sounds good to me."

The little girl smiled and jumped on the couch, which earned a look from Buffy, and then jumped back off and skipped, toward her brother. "Aidan, Daddy said we could get cake!"

"I heard, Ceil. Cool." Aidan said and turned to Buffy. "Are we going to the mall, Mom?"

"Yep, we're going to go pick Izzy up, go eat, and then get some shopping done. That sound good to you?" Buffy asked her oldest.

"Yeah, let me go grab my shoes." Aidan said and went to a hall closet off the family room and grabbed a pair of sneakers and threw them on.

"We set? Everyone got everything?" Buffy asked.

"Yep!" Celia said following Aidan out toward the garage.

"Want to take your car for a drive?" Buffy asked Dean.

"Um, sure." Dean said and he stared at the car parked in the driveway, the one he had been in before.

The kids jumped in the back seat and Dean went to the driver's side and Buffy went to the passenger seat. Once in the car Dean turned the key, which Buffy provided him with, in the ignition and started up the car. It wasn't until he pulled out of the driveway did he realize he didn't know where he was going.

"Jackie's house." Buffy whispered next to him. Dean was about to tell her that he had no idea where Jackie's house was but the next thing he knew he turned the car left and headed down the street, the directions to the girls house in his mind, as if he went there all the time instead of never before in his life.

After a five-minute drive Dean pulled up to a house that was about the same size as theirs, with the same amount of landscaping done, but a different style house. A man, who had turned when they had drove up to the driveway turned around from his own Jaguar and walked up to the window. Buffy rolled it down. "Hey Bill." She smiled at him.

"Sarah." He said and returned the smile. "Dan, how's it going?"

Dean couldn't help but stare. The guy was just…one of them. One of the guys that Dean had sworn he wouldn't become, the hotshot doctor or lawyer with loads of cash that was as fake as his smile. But Dean couldn't find anything, in his new memories that made him think that any of that was true, he'd blame it all on past bitterness anyway, in fact all he could remember was barbeques, parties, and going to dinner sometimes all together. He and this guy were friends. He didn't know why it surprised him, everything in this life was different then his real one. Finally, he smiled. "Hey Bill, everything's great, you?"

"Fine." He said with a genuine smile. He turned toward the garage where Dean saw a curly haired girl and Izzy come out. "The girls had fun last night, they watched a couple horror movies. I sware, these girls are not scared of anything. These movies would have made me cringe when I was a kid. Your daughter was laughing at them. They're brave."

Buffy and Dean exchanged a glance but said nothing. Buffy popped open the trunk and Izzy put her bag in there and then hugged Jackie. "Call ya! And remember salt your windows to keep the demons out!" Izzy giggled and Jackie laughed to.

"Not funny, Izz, you know that stuff freaks me out." Jackie said after a second.

"I know, don't worry, it's not real." Izzy said matter of fact-ly as she got in the back of the car.

"I know." The girl said with a smile and backed away.

"Well, I better go." Bill said. "Andrea's making dinner tonight, her parents are coming over."

"Ah." Buffy said with a knowing look. "Have fun, Thanks."

Dean pulled out and Izzy waved and yelled thanks to Jackie and her dad. A couple minutes later they were on the road toward the restaurant.

Dean had never been to a restaurant like it before. Growing up, he was used to dinners and the occasional bar and grill. Nothing he had ever been to compare to this. Roxanne's was a huge, fancy yet home-y restaurant that had a parking lot filled to the last spot. They were lucky to find a spot at all, but Buffy had pointed out one toward the exit. Inside, the restaurant gave off a nice feel and the décor boasted of Italy. The aroma was enough to make Dean's mouth water and Celia leaned against his leg with a sigh as a waitress passed them with a platter of spaghetti. They were seated within ten minutes of arriving and the waitress led them to a table in the back.

"Shirley Temple, please." Celia said, smiling at the waitress.

"Coke." Aidan said.

"Me too, please." Izzy added. "Please."

"And you Ma'am?" The waitress asked Buffy.

"I'll have an iced tea."

"Sir? What would you like?"

Dean wanted a beer, this all was giving him a headache, or he could have settled for a coffee but instead he said. "A coke also please."

The waitress nodded and walked away and a waiter came with bread. Celia dug in. "Ceil save some room for spaghetti."

"But Mommy, I like bread." Celia said with a pout, which reminded Dean of his younger brother, and he quickly scanned his own memories for any time where Sam might have said those words or anything like it.

"I know sweetie, but think, what happens if you're full and can't have cake?"

"Then I take it home." Celia said with a shrug and Dean smiled, that reminded him of himself when he was a kid.

Buffy sighed, having lost the battle and looked toward Dean. "Want some?" She gestured toward the bread.

He shook his head and turned just as the waitress came back with the drinks. "Are you ready to order?" She asked.

They ordered and within another twenty minutes big bowls of spaghetti came to the table. Dean started at everything, and grinned as he saw Celia taking in all the food. They were all silent for a second, everything staring at everyone else's dinner and then they were off a race to see who would finish first.

A half hour later the Daughtry's emerged from the restaurant and headed toward the car. Celia, who was being held by Dean, clung to a bag of leftovers.

"You guys still up for the mall?" Buffy asked as they headed toward the car.

Celia raised her head from Dean's shoulder. "I'm stuffed Mommy."

Buffy nodded and turned to her husband. "Skip the mall trip?"

Dean looked down at the girl in his arms that yawned. "Yeah, good idea."

Dean carried Celia to the backseat and Izzy and Aidan got in also. Buffy got in the passenger's seat and Dean got in the driver's side. He pulled out of the parking lot and pointed the car in the direction of home.

Dean parked the car in the garage and got out. Izzy and Aidan stumbled toward the door and Buffy went to pick up Celia, who had fallen asleep. Dean stopped her. "Here take this." He whispered and gave her the leftovers and picked Celia up.

He carried her into the house Buffy following behind him.

"Night Mom, Dad." Aidan said and headed upstairs.

Izzy gave Buffy a kiss and Dean a kiss and whispered, "Night Mom, Dad."

Dean carried Celia up to her room. He laid her on her bed and pulled the covers over her, pajamas really didn't matter. He placed a kiss on her forehead and turned on a nightlight before walking out the door to a smiling Buffy.

They walked down to the family room and curled up on the couch. Buffy through a blanket over them both and pulled out a huge family album.

She flipped open to the first page and smiled at the first picture. She put the book in the middle of them.

The picture showed them, tanned and smiling, in front of palm trees.

"California. That was when we first started dating." She said with a smile.

"I grew up in California." She said after a moment. "L.A. and then Sunnydale."

He stared at her and smiled softly. "I was born in Kansas. I lived there until I was four and my Mom died. Then my dad took my brother and I all over. Never really had a home."

Buffy's hand somehow found it's way to his. Dean grinned at her; Sammy was doing something right all those years opening up to girls did help.

Then he frowned. The thought of Sam made his stomach hurt and made him want to pick up a nearest phone. If he didn't actually fear that contacting his family was going to put them in danger he would be on the phone right now.

"What?" She asked.

"My brother. I'm worried. Before coming here, I was in a car accident and a fight. My dad has been searching for this demon that killed my mom and we found it. We managed to get away but there was a car accident and the next thing I know I'm here." He shook his head. "I just want to know he's alright. Him and my dad."

She nodded. "I understand. My sister, my friends, they're all I have. I miss them so much."

He nodded and Buffy's hand grasped his. She looked down at the picture frame. "But maybe…maybe being here isn't such a bad thing. Maybe they're alright, and maybe we get to be." She shrugged. "Normal."

Dean hated and loved the sound of that. He would never let his family go. But there was a part of him that felt right with this. He had only known Buffy for a couple hours but he was already falling in love with her. There was something about them that matched whether it is that higher powers had screwed them over or that they were meant for each other. Dean felt comfortable here, which was saying a lot because it wasn't only the people he was with but this whole place and that didn't happen often.

He smiled softly and leaned forward. She leaned in and their lips met. The light kissing gave way to more passionate kissing and Dean couldn't find anything not right with this.

They stood up and Buffy laughed for a second. As if with one mind making a decision, they both hurried off to the bedroom.

Ice skating, ice skating tradition, all boyfriends have ice skated, zamboni, aidan's good, izzys good, dean almost falls, nick, wake up dean early in the morning, breakfast, hot chocolate

Aidan, dinner, Buffy pov they grow closer


	6. Chapter 6

****

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Hope you enjoy this! Please read and review!

"Daddy! Daddy!" A voice screamed in Dean's left ear.

Dean grunted but the voice continued. "Daddy come onnnn! Get up!" The voice said and Dean felt little hands pushing him. He opened one eye and squinted against the to bright sunlight, Celia kneeled on the couch next to him, grinning ear to ear.

"Hey sleepy head." Buffy said with a grin, coming up next to Celia and blocking the sun.

He smiled at her and got up. "Morning."

"Morning." She smiled.

"Daddy, get up! We're going ice skating!"

"Ice Skating?" He muttered and got up.

"Yep!" Celia grinned.

Buffy tickled Celia, who giggled. "Why don't you finish getting ready?"

"Okay, Mommy." Celia said and Dean could hear her run up the stairs.

"Ice skating?" He repeated.

Buffy gave him a sly smile. "Well, it's kind of a tradition with all my other boyfriends, but since we skipped that part…" She sat down next to him.

"Ahh," He said in understanding. "Well, in that case." He leaned forward and kissed her,

"Umm, Mom, Dad?" Buffy and Dean broke apart form each other. "Are we ready?" Aidan asked.

Buffy smiled. "Yeah, just let your father get dressed."

Dean got up and went upstairs. He walked into the huge closet and grabbed a pair of jeans and shirt. Satisfied with what he had on, he walked back downstairs to where Buffy and the kids were waiting.

"Is that going to be warm enough?" Buffy asked with raised eyebrows.

He nodded. "I'll be fine."

"Okay, let's go. Izz got your skates?" Buffy asked Izzy.

"Yep."

"Aidan? Ceil?"

"Yeah."

"Yep, Mommy."

"Alright." Buffy said and opened the garage door. Dean and the kids followed her out and they got into they went out into the driveway and got into the car.

The drive didn't take long. The ice skating rink was about fifteen minutes from the house. There were about three cars in the parking lot of the huge rink and Buffy parked in front.

"They opened early for us. They know us, we come here all the time." Buffy told him as she pushed open the door.

Dean walked in and followed Buffy. She smiled at a guy at the desk. "Hey Rick."

"Sarah." He nodded and then saw Dean. "Hey Dan."

Dean gave a smile before following Buffy.

The rink was huge. All around the rink was bleachers, for the hockey games and competitions Dean guessed, tables and a food stand, lockers, benches, and a rental stand.

Buffy walked over to the rental stand and got him a pair of skates. She smiled at him and then went over to help Izzy put on her skates.

"Daddy." Celia asked. "Can you help me?"

"Yeah." Dean said gently. "Put your leg up." He told her and started to tie the skates.

"That too tight?" He asked and she shook her head.

"There you go." He said when he was done.

"Thank you Daddy." Celia said and waddled over to Aidan, who had just finished putting on his skates.

Buffy sat next to him and bent down, tying up her own skates. After she was done she stood up with ease and offered him a hand.

He took it, having not skated in years and the two wobbled toward the ice.

Izzy and Aidan stepped on and hung on to the side for a second before letting go and going to skate off. Celia took little steps, one arm holding onto the side, the other out to balance her.

Buffy stepped on first. She put one hand on the side and helped Dean on with the other.

"I've got it." He told her, but wobbled a bit. He grasped the side.

"Haven't done this in a while." He told her.

"Have you ever?" She asked.

"Yeah, a friend of my Dad's, used to have a lake and Sammy and I used to go out and skate." He shook his head at the memory.

"Well then you know how to skate. Come on, here take my hand." Buffy said.

Dean looked down at her hand. "You can trust me." She said gently.

"Oh, I trust you, its myself I don't trust." He said as he let go for a second, thought better of it and put his hands back.

"Come on, don't be such a baby." She prodded and he gave her a look before letting her lead him away from the side.

"See? Not that bad." She told him and she started to pick up speed. Dean nodded, it wasn't that bad.

He looked around. Izzy, Aidan and Celia were racing over by the side. All of them were good, really good. But then, they must pick after their mother, he thought, looking at Buffy who looked so graceful.

Dean was about to say something when he felt himself lose his balance. He went forward and fell bringing Buffy with him.

On the ground, the pair broke out laughing. Izzy, Aidan and Celia skated over.

"You guys okay?" Aidan asked

Buffy giggled and leaned on Dean. "Yeah, we're fine, honey, it's okay." She managed to get out.

The three of them exchanged glances before skating away leaving Dean and Buffy laughing.

Dean managed to get up and pull Buffy up. They skated to the side. "So am I officially you're boyfriend now?"

Buffy gave him a smile. "Yeah." And she leaned forward and gave him a small quick kiss.

He grinned at her and put an arm around her and they watched as the kids skated.

About a half hour later they all sat down on a bench, taking off their skates and putting on their shoes.

"Mommy, what's that?" Celia asked and pointed to a huge thing on the ice.

"That's the Zamboni, Ceil." Buffy told her as they walked out.

"Here." Dean told her and lifted her up. Celia's eyes lit up as she saw it on the ice.

The Daughtry family went back to the car and Buffy drove toward a diner across the street. "Breakfast anyone?"

"Yeah!" The kids said in unison and they got out of the car.

Buffy grabbed Dean's hand as they walked into the restaurant, her eyes sparkling. He gave her a smile and a small kiss before they went in.


	7. Chapter 7

The family crowded in the entrance of the diner and Dean was hit with the smell of breakfast foods and coffee. He looked over half expecting his brother to be standing there and not his seventeen-year-old son and fifteen year old daughter. He blinked once and then turned around, running a hand over his face.

Buffy put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey." She said gently. "You okay?"

He grinned at her. "I'm fine."

The waitress came by a second later and took them all in. "Five?" She asked and then nodded to herself as she led them to a corner table.

They all sat down and she handed out menus to each of them before walking away, telling them she'd be back in a second for their drink orders.

Dean looked around it was small but quaint. It was one of those Mom and Pop type diners he and Sam would have been to all the time. He looked over the menu as the Waitress came back. "What would you like to drink?" She asked and they all ordered their drinks.

"Mommy, I want pancakes." Celia exclaimed.

"When don't you want pancakes squirt." Aidan said looking over his own menu.

Celia frowned. "I love pancakes."

Aidan smiled down at his little sister and ruffled her hair. "Aidaaaan." She dragged out.

Izzy put down her menu. "I'll have pancakes too."

Aidan raised his eyebrows. "Am I the only one not getting pancakes?"

"Nope." Celia said. "Mommy and Daddy aren't."

"What are you getting Dad?" Aidan brought Dean out of his thoughts.

"What?" He asked.

"What are you getting for breakfast, Daddy." Celia told him and Dean frowned looking over the menu.

"Probably the usual." He muttered.

"What's that?" Celia asked.

"Maybe steak and eggs." He told her and she cocked her head at him. "Oh."

"But steak is not for breakfast, Daddy." Celia pointed out and Dean raised his eyebrows.

"Good point, kiddo, but steak and eggs go really good together." Dean tried reasoning with her.

Celia stuck out her tongue as the waitress came back with their drinks.

"Thank you." The little girl said as she took her chocolate milk and started drinking.

Dean put sugar in his coffee and stirred it around before taking a sip. His eyes met Buffy's as she watched him. "What?" He asked her.

She took a sip of her tea, grinning behind the cup. "Nothing." She said after she placed down the cup.

"So are we going shopping later Mom?" Izzy said after she put down her orange juice.

"I was thinking about it." Buffy said, glancing away from Dean to look at her middle child. "Why?"

"Nothing." The girl said, moving her hair behind her ears and looking out the window.

"You all ready to order?" The waitress asked when she came around.

"Pancakes please!" Celia said, fidgeting in her seat.

"Sure sweetheart, and you dear?" The waitress asked Izzy.

"Um, I'll have the pancakes also, please."

"And you hon?" She asked Aidan after scribbling the rest down in her notebook.

"Bacon Egg and Cheese on a roll please and scrambled eggs." He added.

The waitress looked over at Buffy and Dean. "I'll have the pancakes also, please." She said with a smile and then she looked over at Dean. "I'll have steak and eggs, scrambled."

The waitress walked away and Dean turned to Buffy, who's hand found his under the table.

Dean was about to say something when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He looked over to the corner of the entrance of the diner and could have sworn he saw a man flash yellow eyes. But when he looked over again the guy showed no signs of it as he walked into the back.

Dean gave Buffy's hand a squeeze before getting up. "Where are you going?" Buffy asked.

"Bathroom." Came an automated response as he made his way to the back.

The unmistakable smell of sulfur permeated the bathroom when Dean stepped in and he cursed.

The demon didn't seem to notice him, and he wasn't even all that sure it was the demon but Dean wasn't taking any chances. He walked out of the bathroom and to the payphone that was right across from the door.

He grabbed the phone off the hook and was just about to put change in the slot when someone stopped him.

"I wouldn't do that If I were you." A voice said behind him and Dean turned around.

The man looked a little worse for the wear. He was wearing a bowling shaped hat and clothes that didn't match. He raised his eyebrows at the guy for a second but ignored him because he really didn't have time for that.

"You think that'll save them? Sam and your Dad, by telling them about this demon?" The man spoke again and once again Dean turned around, this time with a grunt.

"Who the hell are you?" He asked with a growl.

"Whistler." The guy said with a condescending tone and a nod. "Look, you should leave it alone, right now you're safe. It can't see you, thinks you're a regular guy. As soon as you make that call, it'll know and they along with your new family won't be safe."

Dean closed his eyes and nodded. "Alright."

Whistler nodded. "Okay."

Dean was about to walk back to the table, pretend that he hadn't met some guy who knew a hell of a lot about him and sit down and go back to being normal with his new family when the guy called out to him.

"Dean."

He stopped and turned. "Yeah?"

"Take good care of her." Whistler said with a knowing look and Dean wondered if Whistler knew Buffy before all this.

He nodded. "Of course."

When he walked back to the table he was gone.

"What's wrong?" Buffy asked when he got to the table and Dean shook his head.

"Nothing." He said with a smile and stared down at the food, feeling suddenly not all that hungry. He forced a couple bites and downed the rest of his coffee, trying to get the uneasy feeling out of his stomach.

A half hour later the family emerged from the diner. Celia was on Dean's back and Izzy and Aidan were angrily fighting over the 'real' ending to House of Wax.

"I'm telling you Izz, that Jacob dude was the third brother or whatever."

"No, that's the other brother you were talking about. Besides how'd we get into this anyway? I was talking about horror movies, Aidan, this is a thriller."

"Not every horror movie has to have vampires and demons in it Izzy."

"You're just mad because you got scared of Poltergeist when we were little."

Dean and Buffy exchanged looks. "What's poltergeist?" Celia asked from Dean's back.

"Just a movie sweetie. You're brother and sister are being silly." Buffy said smoothing down her hair and giving her oldest children looks.

"Hey Dad, what are you doing when we get home." Aidan asked when they got in the car.

Dean looked at his son from the mirror. "Nothing, what do you have in mind?"

"Wanna work on the 'Vette?" Aidan asked.

Dean grinned, "Sure."

"Can we have game night tonight?" Celia piped up from the backseat.

Buffy let Dean answer her; he smiled at their youngest. "Sure kiddo sounds good."

The little girl smiled in response and Buffy sighed contently at them as she pulled the car out onto the road. This is what family feels like and she had a good feeling, not a feeling that the world could end at any moment, not that her family might be in danger, it was a feeling that everything was going to be okay.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: As promised I updated as quickly as possible. Thanks for everyone who reviewed! I got a question on this and I just wanted to let everyone knoe, the reason the kids are so old is because that way they are easily hidden. No one will suspect them to have kids that age. The PTBs did it as a way to keep them hidden. Any other questions you have on the story or the children, please ask, or keep reading, hopefully they will all be answered. So, enjoy and thanks for reading!**

Buffy pulled the car into the garage and smiled at Dean, giving him a light kiss before he got out with Aidan to head toward the Corvette. She heard Dean whistle and she grinned, taking her little girl's hand and swinging it as they made it in to the house. Izzy went up to her room, yawning and muttering something about not catching enough sleep that night, which was understandable with a sleepover.

"What do you want to do, Celia Belia?" Buffy questioned her daughter who giggled as her mother ticked her.

"I dunno." She shrugged. Then her eyes lit up. "Can we bake cookies?"

Buffy smiled at her. "Sounds great, baby. Chocolate chip?" She asked and moved toward the pantry to get out the flour and sugar.

"Yeah!" Celia exclaimed and licked her lips.

"Okay." Buffy said, putting down all the necessary ingredients and going to the fridge to get the eggs. Motherhood had surely changed her; she had been a terrible cook before this. She guessed that this all came with the memories the PTB's added. She felt robbed somehow though, she wanted it all to be real, but she couldn't really think about that too much because thinking about that led her to think about her other family. The family she left behind and that wouldn't do her any good, what she was doing was for the best, she was saving the world, again.

She sighed and rubbed her nose with the back of her hand, moving to the cabinet to get the mixing bowl. Her daughter watched her with fascination and Buffy turned to her and stuck out her tongue. The little girl giggled. Sometimes she was grateful that the world was in danger, if this is what she got by saving it.

"You want to help?" She asked Celia, pushing the bowl toward her daughter. Buffy cracked the egg and poured everything necessary in the mix. She handed the mixer to Celia and let Celia mix the ingredients.

While her daughter was doing that Buffy preheated the stove and got the cookie sheet ready.

"Are you done?" She asked when she was finished and looked over her daughters shoulder. "Looks good, Ceil." She told her. "Now wash your hands so we can make these into balls and put them on the cookie sheet."

Celia did as instructed and Buffy followed suit and then they both dipped their hands into the batter, rolling each clump into balls and them plopping them on the sheet.

"Good." Buffy said when they were finished and Buffy put them in the oven. "Hmm, Ceil, these are going to be great." She commented as they looked at them through the window.

"Let's go watch TV until they're finished."

"Can we watch Casper Mommy? Or Hocus Pocus?" Celia asked, smiling up at her Mother.

"Okay." She answered and they went to the family room.

"This is a 1967 Corvette Sting Ray." Dean's mouth was hanging open, he loved the Impala but this was also a nice car.

"Yeah Dad, you've had it for a while. We've been working on it, but you've been busy so." Aidan stopped and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Dean said and he turned away from the car to look at Aidan, who was his son, a fact that would take a while to get used to.

"Nah, its okay, I understand. I'm just glad we have some time." He smiled at Dean and Dean stopped because that reminded him of himself when he was Aidan's age, hovering over his own Dad as he worked on the Impala. He swallowed quickly and looked away.

"You alright Dad?" Aidan asked and Dean nodded. "Yeah." He turned and grinned, rubbing his hands together in anticipation, "Let's get to work."

Aidan grinned back and moved toward the toolbox.

They spent a couple hours like that, just fixing things. Dean began to tell Aidan little things that his own father had told him and Aidan really listening, and it felt good, being a Dad.

They sat back for a second and took a breather. It was started to get hot and Dean had stripped down to only his under shirt. He wiped his brow with his arm.

"I think we made some progress today." He commented and Aidan grinned looking over the car.

Aidan was about to comment with a 'Hell yeah' when they heard a scream from somewhere in the house.

Without thinking Dean was up and running, Aidan not so far behind.

Buffy had just finished putting the second patch of cookies Celia insisted on making on a plate when she heard the scream. Dropping the spatula she sprinted to the stairs and did them two at a time. She slammed Izzy's door open and ran to her daughter who was on the bed, tossing and turning.

She bolted up right as soon as Buffy moved to touch her. Just then Dean ran into the room. Izzy looked up, surprised but also grateful.

"Mommy." Izzy said and fell into Buffy's arms.

Buffy smoothed down her daughter's hair and rocked her.

"What is it Baby?" She asked once Izzy had calmed down a little. Dean kneeled by the bed next to them and Aidan was holding Celia in the doorway.

"I had a nightmare." Izzy said, through gasps.

"Shoo, it's okay." Buffy said, giving Izzy a kiss on her forehead. "It's okay, it was just a dream."

Buffy exchanged a look with Dean and then got up with Izzy to go to the bathroom.

Buffy put a hand on Aidan's arm. "Take Celia downstairs, please. There are some cookies, pour us some milk and get whatever game she wants to play ready."

Aidan nodded and headed down the stairs with Celia.

In the bathroom Izzy was raising shaky hands filled with water to her face and Buffy rubbed circles between her shoulder blades.

"Do you want to talk about it? She asked calmly.

Her daughter managed a small smile. "I think I've been watching to many horror movies." She said.

Buffy nodded and turned to Dean. "You alright kiddo?" Dean asked.

"Yeah Daddy. I'm okay." Izzy said and dried off her face and then gave him a hug.

Buffy smiled. "Sweetie, Celia and I made cookies, your favorite, if you want we can go down and play a game and eat."

Izzy smiled. "Okay."

"Good." Buffy said and they let her go.

Buffy and Dean exchanged another glance before they went down stairs. _Should we be worried? Not yet…_

Downstairs Celia was chattering away to Aidan while he set up the game of Life. At every seat milk was poured and there were empty plates with the cookies in the middle.

Izzy sat down and rubbed her eyes for a second before smiling at Celia. "Are you okay, Izzy?" Celia asked.

"Yeah, I am, thanks Ceil. "Izzy said and grabbed a cookie. Dean and Buffy took their seats also and Dean took a cookie.

"Celia chose Life." Aidan informed them, gesturing toward the table and Buffy nodded. "Okay, sounds good."

"I want the yellow car!" Celia exclaimed and Aidan handed it to her and then gave out the other cars.

"Everyone knows how to play right?" Aidan asked and Dean almost said No, he had played it once with Sam but that was a long time ago. But like so many other things a memory of playing the game many times before resurfaced in his mind and suddenly he remembered.

"Yep." Buffy said looking around the table.

"Alright, 100,000 dollars if everyone's going to college. Since no one has it yet, we're all in debt. Unless you want to start a career."

Dean thought about it. This game was about choices right? He had a choice to go to college or to take a career. Dean Winchester would have chose a career and went straight to getting the money when he hit payday instead of choosing college and being 100, 000 dollars in debt. But something told him that Daniel Patrick Daughtry wouldn't have done that, he would have seen something practical in going to college and being in debt.

"Okay Ceil, you go first since you're the youngest." Aidan directed his little sister and she reached over the table to take a spin.

"Ooh, good job sweetie, you got a ten." Buffy praised her daughter and Celia smiled and moved her car with the little pink thing inside.

When they had reached the end and everyone ended up at retirement, Celia had more money then them all combined and her car was filled with her children and husband she had acquired along the way.

After that the Daughtry family just sat around, talking, laughing. Izzy seemed in a much better mood was throwing cookie bits at Aidan who was talking about some school crush he noticed his sister had. It was pathetically normal and Dean never felt that happy, that safe. He had forgotten about everything in the past hour, the demon, the world he was saving, and now he just felt like he was home.

At one point he just stared at his wife. He thanked the PTB's for this; it didn't feel that much like a curse anymore. Buffy smiled when she caught him staring and she leaned in for a kiss. Their lips met and suddenly everything fell away, the kitchen, his children laughing in the background.

Dean never really thought himself as a romantic, never really had the chance to test it out, just kind of came upon girls he sort of liked, knowing that he'd never see them again, so he didn't waste his time on anything other than a charming smile and a good pick up line. But she had him thinking, of plans, of the future, of real love. Nothing could ruin this moment. And for the first time since he got there, he knew that everything was okay. That his brother and father were fine, that he was fine, that his new family was fine.

Giggles erupted along with an "Ewww, Mommy and Daddy." And they broke the kiss off, Dean grinning at Celia.

"You think so kiddo?" He said and went over to her, tickling.

"Yeah!" She said and tried to escape her father but he grabbed her.

"I think its time for you to go to bed, what do you think?" He asked as he carried her upside down out of the room and up the stairs, the rest of the family close behind.

"No, Daddy!" She said still laughing.

"Oh well then." He said, putting her down. "I guess you don't want to be ready for the surprise tomorrow then."

Celia stopped and looked up at him. "Surprise?"

"No, I can't tell you, it's only for little girls who go to bed."

Celia ran down the hallway and to her room, jumping on the bed. "Daddy! I'm going to sleep! You can tell me now!"

Dean chuckled and made his way into his daughter's room. "Get under the covers." He told her and she obeyed.

"Now will you tell me?" She pleaded, giving puppy dog eyes.

"Then it wouldn't be a surprise." He said and bent down to give her a kiss on the forehead. "You'll find out tomorrow, go to sleep."

She snuggled deep down in the covers and he turned off the light and turned the switch on for the night light.

When he went downstairs Izzy was cleaning up the game and Aidan was helping Buffy put the dishes in the dishwasher.

"You guys better go to bed too, got a big day tomorrow." He told them and Aidan raised an eyebrow.

"What are we doing?"

"You'll see." Dean told Aidan.

"Izzy, you going to be okay?" Buffy asked as Izzy went to leave.

"Yeah mom." She said. "I'll be okay."

"Come to get us if you need us." Dean told her and she nodded, saying goodnight as she went.

Buffy went to the family room and collapsed on the couch. "Ahh." She said happily.

Dean sat next to her and rubbed her shoulders. "Rough day?"

She laughed with him and got closer. "Thank you." She said finally and he pulled away with a questioning look.

"For what?"

"For just, adjusting so quickly. For being okay with this." She gestured around the room.

He gave her a small smile. "I didn't think, I mean, I didn't know it would be like this…with you." She smiled slightly and he continued. "I love them, and I love you." He said finally and her hand found his hand.

"I love you too." She breathed.

And like on the first night there they fell asleep, hands intertwined, close together.

Big Day, somehow find out that Izzy is slayer or something…izzy talks to buffy. Then Sam and John and The Scoobies


	9. Chapter 9 Pt 1

**A/N: Here's another chapter! This one comes in two parts though. One reason because I wanted to update tonight and I knew that I would never be able too if I got everything done in this chapter I wanted to. Second is because I didn't want it to be too long. I like to keep you hanging although this part is not a cliffhanger. There will be one soon though, very very soon. Thanks everyone for the reviews, it means so much to be and it gets me motivated. Also I noticed I've been added to some alerts and favorite lists, thank you so much for that as well. Keep it up! Hope you enjoy!**

Buffy woke up to the smell of, eggs, bacon and maple syrup? She opened her eyes, confused, and noticed that there was no one beside her. Rubbing her eyes she walked into the kitchen where the rich aroma was coming from.

"Mommy!" Celia giggled as Buffy stepped through the threshold into the sunlit kitchen. The kids were all sitting at the table where plates were stacked with bacon, eggs and pancakes. She looked toward the stove to the one she sought. Dean grinned at her from stove as he turned down the temperature. He looked so handsome, there with a towel on his shoulder and a pan in his hand. "Good morning." He said and came forward to give her a kiss.

"Morning." She said back.

He put the rest of the pancakes on the pan and then set it down, holding out the chair for his wife and then pushing it in. She smiled up at him and then turned to her kids.

"Morning, guys. This is nice."

"Yeah, and yummy too!" Celia said and chewing on a piece of bacon.

Dean poured Buffy a cup of coffee and then one for himself. "Thanks honey." She said and he smiled.

"Orange juice guys?" He asked the kids and they nodded.

Buffy reached over for the syrup and poured it on her pancakes.

Finally Dean sat down and took a sip of his coffee, he smiled at his family as he put down the mug. "Everyone ready for today?" He asked.

Everyone nodded, to busy to speak, while eating. Buffy looked at Dean, confused. "What's today?"

"Well, I can't tell you that." Dean told her.

Buffy shook her head but didn't ask any more questions, she wanted a nice surprise for once. "Alright."

The Daughtry family finished there meal and each one of the kids went upstairs to get ready.

"That was delicious, thank you" Buffy said, walking toward her husband.

"Your welcome." He said and leaned down to kiss her.

They broke off after a couple of seconds. Buffy grinned up at him. "We should get ready." She told him.

"We should." He agreed but leaned down to give her another quick kiss before they both made it up to their room.

Ten minutes later everyone was downstairs.

"So Dad, where are we going?" Izzy asked, helping Celia put on her shoes.

"It's a surprise." Dean told them and opened the door for his wife and children, ushering them out to the car.

Once in the car Dean put on the local classic rock station. He squeezed Buffy's hand as he backed out of the driveway.

The drive only took thirty minutes. He made them all close there eyes as he turned onto a narrow road. The car lurched on the gravel and Celia giggled.

"Where are we Daddy?"

"Open your eyes." Dean said as he parked.

The rest of the Daughtry family did just that. There was an all around gasp and Buffy squeezed Dean's hand tighter.

"Boats!" Celia exclaimed.

"Awesome." Aidan said nodding.

Dean had had a dream the other night about buying a boat and taking his family on it. He felt happy, free. It was amazing. He remembered that when he was with his family and he wanted to bring them here.

Dean turned the car off and got out. "Let's go."

"Anyone have to go to the bathroom?" Buffy asked. "Go now or hold your pee."

Celia giggled on that and raced Izzy to the bathroom.

Buffy watched her daughters, smiling. Izzy was fast.

When Aidan disappeared after the girls Buffy turned to her husband. "This is a great idea." She said and kissed him.

He smiled and wrapped his arms around her. She rested her head on his shoulder and they stood there, content.

The kids came back a couple minutes later. "The bathrooms are pretty schmazzy." Aidan commented.

Dean nodded. "It's the private yacht club way."

Dean nodded over to the snack bar. "They have some sandwiches over there. We can get some for the ride."

Celia tugged on Dean's shirt. "Can we get mozzarella sticks, Daddy? Like last time?"

Dean nodded. "Sure Ceil." He looked over at Buffy. "You want something?"

She nodded. "Yeah, a sandwich sounds good."

Dean walked over to the window. He let them all order and then ordered a sandwich for himself.

After he paid he started walking toward the docks. Celia skipped down the ramp and Aidan walked behind her. Izzy had her digital camera out and was snapping candid shots of her siblings. Buffy and Dean hung back a little, watching them.

"I just feel…" Buffy started.

Dean turned. "Hmm?"

"I feel like they're apart of me. They say you never know a mother's love until you are a mother and I never really understood that. Until now." Buffy said.

Dean nodded.

"And I'd do anything for them." She added.

Dean was brought back to what he said to Sam right before he realized his dad was possessed. He meant it and now it included his new family. He felt a pang when he thought about them, but it was dulled. They were okay and he was okay and he was happy, he hoped they were too.

He shook it away as Aidan stepped on the boat, then lifting Ceil on. Izzy got on next and then he and Buffy made their way down there.

The boat was a 61' yacht. It was pretty impressive and he had had it custom made somewhere in Florida and it had been sent up to New York. Before this he didn't know anything about boats but suddenly he found he knew everything from abaft to yardman.

Dean moved toward the controls and got it started and gently guided the boat out of the yacht club and out onto the Hudson River.

When he got it settled he went to the back where his family was. He could steer from there too.

Izzy, Buffy, Aidan and Celia were around the table playing a game of Go-fish while eating their sandwiches and chips.

When Buffy spotted him she patted the seat next to hers. He shook his head.

"The captain doesn't have time to relax." He told her and she laughed.

After a couple minutes they were far away from the yacht club. Dean saw some people he knew, or Daniel knew and waved. But he waved to just about everyone anyway because that's just something you did on the boat.

"Can I help Daddy?" Dean glanced toward Celia from where his eyes were trained ahead.

"Yeah, Ceil you can be a deckhand." Aidan snickered and Izzy threw a towel at him.

"Hey!" Aidan laughed.

"Sure Ceil, you can help me drive." Dean told her. The little girl's blue eyes sparkled. "I can?" "Yep." He said and lifted her up and carried her to the controls. "Okay Ceil. Take the wheel." She obliged. "Okay." He pointed toward some driftwood. "Don't wanna hit that so you're going to move starboard." "What's that?" She questioned. "The right of the boat when it's facing forward." "Oh." She said and she moved right. "Gently." Dean told her. "That's it!" He said when she was done. "Atta girl." Celia grinned up at him.

It went on like this for a couple minutes, Dean rattling off some lingo to the little girl. He could feel Buffy and the others watching from the back and he smiled softly. "Izz, your turn?" He called to his middle child. Izzy leaped up. "Please." Izzy had been driving the boat since she was Ceil's age, maybe younger. Dean had a memory of putting her on his lap when he would drive when they had the smaller 30'. "You got it, sweetie?" He asked her and she nodded. "Aye aye captain."

"Hardy har har." She giggled at him and he went to join his family, he would still keep an eye out but he was confident in his daughter. Aidan was talking in great detail about the car to Buffy and Celia asked if he was going to repaint it. "It might need one Ceil, why?" "Can I paint it?" She asked looking up at her brother with a grin, "He-umm, No thanks Ceil, sorry. I'm sure you can help me some other way though. He offered, saving his self from being warned about his language. Dean shook his head and sat next to his wife. There hands found each other and she leaned against his shoulder as he kept watch of the water around them. "Want your sandwich, Daddy?" Celia asked and offered the bag to him.

"Yeah, baby, thanks." He said and unwrapped the sandwich and took a bite.

He finished quickly, all that work steering giving him quite the appetite. Celia was getting out the cards again. "Hey Dad, you in?" Aidan asked and Dean looked away from the water. "Yeah, sure." He said confident he could take his eyes off the water for a minute or to. Aidan dealt the cards and the game started. It was just his turn when he looked up for a second and a jet ski was a foot or two away. "Izzy!" He screamed but before he could even say anything Izzy had swerved the boat port side to avoid the skier. "Idiot." His daughter said and went on pretending as if nothing had happened. They were all staring at her and she turned around. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"You didn't just see the jet ski inches from us?" Aidan asked. "It wasn't inches…" She said, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, it was." Aidan argued. "And how did you do that? I mean your reflexes must be like amazing." Izzy waved a hand. "Yeah, yeah." "I'll take it from here, Izz." Dean told her, exchanging looks with Buffy. Izzy sighed. "Okay, I can use a break." Dean took the wheel and steered for a bit.

It was quiet after that. No other close calls and Dean could call the water peaceful. He knew, really, it was anything but. Finally after an hour more of being on water Dean docked the boat. "Whoa." Aidan and Izzy commented looking up. They had reached their destination: New York City. "You guys ready?" Dean asked giving Buffy's hand a squeeze and holding Celia in his other arm.


	10. Chapter 9 Pt 2

**A/N: Thanks everyone so much for reading and reviewing! I'll try to update soon. I hope you enjoy this!**

"C'mon Daddy!" Celia said, tugging on her father's hand. The family had stopped for a second at a crosswalk and the six year old didn't want to waste any time. She had her eye on the prize the huge Toy's R Us in front of her.

The Daughtry's was in time square. Aidan and Celia wanted to go to MTV and Hard Rock, Buffy to Hershey and M and M world and Celia to Toy's R Us. Dean just wanted to be with his family.

"We'll go to MTV in a second guys." Buffy said to her older children apologetically.

"Are you kidding? I want to go to Toys R Us." Aidan said and Izzy rolled her eyes at her older brother.

"Geek." She grinned.

"Look who's talking Wonder Woman. Maybe we can find you a cape." Aidan said, arching his eyebrows. He had noticed the change in his sister, reflexes, strength, speed, had a radioactive spider bitten her?

"Shut up, Aidan." She said lightly and as if she had been there all along, she had suddenly appeared next to their father and little sister.

He blinked for a second, before running a little bit and catching up to them.

"Whoa!" Celia said when she walked in. Buffy smiled at her youngest daughter, happy that she was happy.

"Ceil look!" Dean pointed out the huge Ferris wheel in the middle of the store.

"Wow!" She said but then she moved on. Celia, like her father, hated heights.

"Izz check this out." Aidan called, Izzy away.

Buffy smiled at her daughter's expressions. Celia just couldn't look happier. "Look Mommy look!" Celia held up a Barbie doll but then put it down. She knew what her daughter was looking for.

The stuffed animal collection was huge and the little girl screamed in delight. Buffy held Dean's hand and laughed with him as Celia ran around naming all the animals she could find. Izzy and Aidan came back seconds later laughing about something they saw.

After a couple more minutes the little girl walked toward Buffy. "Mommy…can I get this?"

She was holding a chocolate and white puppy that Buffy thought was adorable. "Yeah, baby, you can get it."

"Thank you! Thank you!" She said and hugged the puppy tight. His name is spot, she announced as they paid.

"You guys want to go to MTV?" Dean asked Izzy and Aidan.

"Yeah…and maybe Barnes and Noble?" Izzy asked sheepishly.

"Yeah, sure." Dean managed to choke out as a memory of Sam slammed into him so fast he squeezed Buffy's hand.

"You okay?" She asked.

Dean smiled. "Yep."

They walked into MTV and looked around a bit. Izzy rolled her eyes at the price of things and said it wasn't even stuff she liked anyway.

Next was Barnes and Noble. Dean and Aidan headed up to the Music and Izzy walked around the fiction section and wandered off. Buffy followed Celia to the kid's section and they read the beginning of a Cam Jansen book.

Dean skimmed through the CDs. The Impala didn't have a CD player but his new car did.

"What are you looking at Dad?" Aidan asked.

Dean held an AC/DC, a Blue Oyster Cult CD and Metallica.

Aidan looked over his father's choices. "Nice, are we getting those?"

Dean nodded; he had the money, why not?

"Cool." Aidan said. "Music to listening to while working on the 'vette."

"Exactly." Dean said and grinned at his son.

Dean and Aidan walked downstairs, trying to locate the rest of their family. Buffy and Celia walked forward carrying books in their hands and they saw Izzy over by the new releases. She joined them once she spotted.

"What are you getting sweetheart?" Buffy asked, looking at the stack of books her daughter had.

"Can I get these?" Izzy said, showing each one of them quickly and then pausing on a couple of other ones.

Dean looked at one of the covers Izzy was holding off to the side. Sam had read that once. Dean nodded. "Sure, honey." He gave Izzy the money and Aidan the Cds. Celia and Buffy followed with Celia's Cam Jansen books.

Dean went to follow them but paused when he saw an all to familiar headline in a newspaper: House Fire, family killed.

He frowned and picked it up. Not so far from where they lived there had been a house fire. Electric short in the baby's nursery was the cause. No survivors. Dean cursed himself for not calling Sam but he knew that there was nothing he could do. That guy had warned against contacting his brother, the consequences were to great if the demon somehow found out where Sam and his Dad were or where he was. His brow furrowed. He took a deep breath and put the newspaper down. There was nothing he could do, that was no longer his life. He had to believe that, he couldn't let anything happen to his family, either of them, he wouldn't.

"You okay?" Buffy asked, coming over and laying a hand on his shoulder. She had a smile on her face and suddenly he forgot about the fire, put it in the back of his mind.

"Yeah, I am now." He told her and they walked out together.

They ate dinner at Hard Rock Café where Dean appreciated the ambiance of the place. A wall of guitars from all his favorite bands and legends? He was like a kid in a candy shop.

Celia laughed at Dean as he hummed to a song that played on the huge screen above them. Izzy read the history of the place from the menu and Aidan took pictures with his camera phone. "This is awesome!"

The song ended and another began just as there food arrived. Dean dug into a burger and Buffy grabbed her heart. "Oh, I love this song. Guy's this song was on when I was your age."

Aidan and Izzy rolled their eyes and laughed at their mother, not realizing the song wasn't from that long ago. But the PTB's could alter what ever they want, so it didn't matter any way.

Aidan and Izzy raced each other up the staircase when dinner was done. Trying to take it all in. Celia followed them close behind and Buffy and Dean, as always, watched them contently.

At the end they all got guitar pins to remember this day by and took a picture in front of the big sign out front.

By that time Celia and Buffy were dragging them too M and M world and the Hershey store.

"Whoa," Izzy was stunned at all the different colors of M and M's and each one of the Daughtry's got a bag filled with their favorite colors. Celia got pink, white and Purple, Buffy a rainbow, Dean Black and White and Green, Aidan just black and white, and Izzy got dark blue, light blue and white.

The family paid and walked across the street to the Hershey store.

"Look at all this choclately goodness. Will would die." Buffy shook her head for a second and turned to Celia and Izzy who just stared.

"It's a five pound chocolate bar! I say we get it." Izzy said when she had broken out of her stare. She wiggled her eyebrows at her mother.

"I say we don't." Buffy said and Izzy shrugged grabbing a smaller three pounder instead.

"Sure." Buffy told her.

At the end, Aidan had a bag filled with candy as did Celia, Izzy got the chocolate bar and Dean and Buffy bought two big buckets. One for themselves and one for the house.

The family walked down the street with all their packages.

It wasn't that late yet and if they were lucky they could make it home by nine.

They loaded everything on to the boat and Celia fell asleep on the couch. Izzy sat down next to her and text messaged and Aidan sat across from them on a chair. Buffy was out on the deck with Dean while he steered.

"Thank you for today." She said not wanting to distract him that much.

"You're welcome." He said, giving her a quick smile before returning her eyes on the water.

"It was perfect." She added and kissed in on the cheek.

He wanted to turn and kiss her more but he had to keep his eyes on the water. She sat on the seat next to him.

"They love you, you know?" She said.

He nodded. "I know. "

"Good."

"You know, when I first came here. I didn't think it would be like this. I thought I was going to pretend to be someone I'm not but you made it better. You saved me. I don't think I would have been able to raise these kids if I didn't have someone who understood me." She said, trying to find the right words.

He nodded but didn't turn. "You would have done find on your own."

She gave a short laugh at that. "My own sister hated me, I was terrible with her. I-." She paused; she found it hard to talk about that. It was so distant from her now.

"I wish that they would know them, my friends. Celia would have loved Xander, Willow would have braided her hair, and maybe did some smell to make her dolls come alive." Buffy smiled at that thought. "Izzy could have bonded with Willow and Giles, she seems to like books. And Aidan would have gotten along with Xander. Dawn would have had nieces and nephews." Buffy wiped a tear from her eye then sniffed.

"I know how you feel. My dad, my brother and I were looking for him for a year. I finally found him, we were a family again and…" He shrugged.

They were silent for a minute. Dean took a deep breath.

"But I love them and I love you, and this is the right thing to do." He added and she kissed him on the cheek again.

"I love you too."

They were home thirty minutes later. Aidan carried Celia up to bed and they left all there things, except Spot for Ceil, in the car, too tired to drag them all in.

"Night guys." Buffy whispered to her children before walking into the room and collapsing on the bed.

Dean joined her a second later and they lay together, just being close to each other. Dean knew he loved her, knew she loved him. This was his new family. This was his new life.

He fell asleep, comforted and happy.

The dream he had was neither. "Dean!" His brother was screaming for him. "Dean!"

But then he heard other people calling for him. Buffy and his children. All calling for him and he didn't know what to do.

He woke up in a sweat and checked the clock. It was off. He got up and went to the bathroom, splashing water on his face. He then went to the hallway and checked outside all his children's bedroom doors, not leaving until he heard their steady breathing.

Finally he went back and lay down by Buffy, placing a kiss on her forehead before he fell asleep again.

This time he was dreaming of the boat, or something about water, maybe he was under the Impala fixing some kind of leak because he felt a drip on his forehead. And then another one.

He woke up; glad that he could stop the dripping but it happened again. When he opened his eyes he saw one of his worst nightmares.

Buffy was right above him on the ceiling, stomach cut and blood dripping down. Her mouth hung open in an oh,

"No!" He screamed. "No!" And got up as fast as he could, his mind racing all at once but before he could reach up, before he could try to stop what he knew what was coming, everything went black.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews! I know you guys probably hate me right now and you still may hate me after this chapter but there is more on the way! I am so glad you are enjoying this and the reviews help me write! Thanks again! Keep reading and I hope you enjoy!**

_Dead. Gone. Deceased. Passed away. Killed. Murdered. Slaughtered._

There were so many words running through his brain right now as he sat in the motel room, staring off into space. The walls held no comfort and did nothing to help him to breathe again as the words traveled through his head surrounded by a single fact that he couldn't believe. His brother was dead. Dean was dead and he wasn't taking it well, because it couldn't be true. They couldn't convince him, not at the scene when they kept repeating that they had no pulse, not at the hospital when the doctor came in to talk to him, not even when they salt and burned his body. It wasn't true.

But he was in denial; it was a stage of grief. Something that was common knowledge but also well ingrained in him after Jessica. With Jessica denial didn't last long even though for a while he convinced himself he was crazy, that'd what he'd seen wasn't real. But he hadn't seen Dean die, not with his own eyes, and his brother was still breathing when he got him in the car. Dean wasn't even on the side of the car that had gotten hit by the semi, Dad had been and he was fine, got away with a broken arm. The doctor said it was the extent of the injuries, that the accident and impact must have been what did it.

Sam wanted vengeance. Revenge, justice, whatever it took. He wanted to bring Dean back. Without him…Sam couldn't finish the thought. Couldn't think of what life without Dean would be like. No, life the past few days had been terrible. Unbearable. Dad hadn't said two words to Sam, about anything and when Sam woke up that morning his Dad wasn't there. He didn't know and a part of him didn't care. Right now it was hard to take in anything other than the words surrounding the brutal truth. A truth he didn't want to believe.

He took a deep breath, he was tired, and exhausted even and when he looked at the mirror for a second when he went to the bathroom he didn't recognize the face in front of him. He shook his head to push the thoughts away of himself. He didn't want to think right now. Wished he could go to sleep but every time he closed his eyes he saw his father with yellow eyes and Dean bleeding to death and then Dean's corpse on fire, burning to ash.

The door opened and he looked up hopefully, for a quick second thinking about possibilities and hopes but his father stepped through looking paler than he had been in the past few days.

"Where were you?" Sam asked, not all that interested but a little concerned.

His dad didn't say anything but dropped something he'd been holding on the table in front of him.

Sam read the headlines and his eyes widened. A house fire in New York killed a family. The origin of the fire, baby's nursery. He looked at his father, whose eyes met his.

"It's started already." His dad muttered.

"Do you think…do you think it's a trap?" Sam asked.

John ran a hand over his face. "I don't know, probably. But, we should go check it out." He said looking over at the nightstand where the Colt lay.

Sam blew out his breath. "How'd you get this anyway, we're in-." He paused a pain shooting through his head. He hissed and grabbed it.

"Sam?" He heard his dad say and there the pain was again, almost as bad as the first one and a flash of images went through his mind, a little girl, a blonde woman. Then he blinked and saw his dad in front of him.

He was about to say something but he grabbed his head again as another pain went through him. He clutched his head and the image appeared before his eyes.

He couldn't see faces, but he saw figures. He saw what looked like a man get up and stand before a room, and another and then another before returning to another larger room and kissing a woman on the forehead. He saw her though, same blonde haired woman as before. The man then lay down. The image flashed forward to the man waking up again, something dripping on his forehead and then looking up. The blonde woman was on the ceiling, stomach slashed and then he was screaming right before the fire erupted from the ceiling above.

Sam gasped as his eyes focused on his Dad's face again. "Sam? Sam!"

"A fire, another one. In New York, it has to be. We might be to late." Sam said, looking at his dad.

"A vision?" John asked, his forehead creased with worry.

"Yeah." Sam walked slowly to the nightstand where the Colt was and grabbed it.

"Let's go." Sam told him and John followed.

"New York, are you sure?" John said as he turned onto the highway. They had been driving for a couple hours without really a word said and were getting close.

"It has to be, why would the demon spread them out? He wants us there." Sam told him, tightening the grip on the Impala's wheel. It was so weird driving it, apparently it had survived the crash and all it took was a couple days work on it, something that Bobby and his dad had done. Dean would have wanted it that way.

He swallowed whatever was in his throat and glanced at his Dad. "Dad-."

His father shook his head and held up a hand. "Not now Sam. Okay?"

He understood, but they were going to talk about it sometime. Because he wasn't okay and neither was his father.

He took a deep breath and let it out, concentrating on the road ahead.

It didn't take them that long to get to New York and Sam was unnerved at the difference between traveling with his father and traveling with Dean. He was driving, for one and there were no comments from his father, nothing, and if he hadn't glanced in his direction every few minutes Sam might not even know he was there. Sam wasn't the only one taking Dean's…he swallowed, Dean's death not well.

When they got there Sam grabbed a fake ID, fire inspector. He looked at his father. The only other IDs in there were Dean's.

"I bet if you hide the um, picture they won't notice it's not you." He supplied but John only grunted in response and got out of the car.

The police had finished up their investigation and labeled it as fire due to an electrical short. Or so the paper said. Sam reached into his jacket pocket for the EMF and flicked it on.

No one was at the scene and the remains of the house, which was only brick, charred wood and the foundation, were blocked off by yellow tape. Sam stepped over it and took the EMF out. He looked at his Dad who walked to the other side of the foundation.

"Sam." His dad called and he walked over. In front of them was a line of yellow stuff along the outside of the foundation. When it got to one spot it scattered.

Sam bent down and touched the substance bringing it up to his nose he grimaced at the smell. Sulfur.

He pointed to where the sulfur was scattered. "I bet you that's just below where the baby's nursery was."

John nodded and walked around the rest of the house. Finally he came back. "I don't see anything, I don't know what he wants us to find."

Sam shook his head. "And this isn't the house in my vision. I was hoping it would give us some kind of clue or something."

"You didn't get any kind of address? Or anything to give away where it might be?" His father asked.

Sam shook his head again, frustrated. "No, nothing. It was like-It was like something was blocking me but there was something familiar as well."

"Familiar what?"

"I don't know, I can't explain it." Sam said looking down and then up again. The face in front of him wasn't the one he was expecting though and for a moment he had to wonder where his brother was. Then the air rushed out of him as the truth came in again and he swayed on his feet.

"Sam?" John asked.

"Yeah, I think we should go. Get a room, maybe we could go into town, explain what the girl looked like, see if anyone knows her." He paused and looked at his dad. "You know, it's strange. I couldn't see the guy, the husband. Just the wife."

His dad shrugged. "Maybe he wasn't important."

Sam shook his head. "No, I think that's what it was, he was important. Maybe something or someone is keeping me from seeing him."

His dad looked at him for a second. "You think it's the demon?"

Sam sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I don't know, I think once we find the house, maybe we'll know."

John nodded and got in the car and Sam stared at the house for a second longer. They were too late to save this family, too late for the other one too, the fire had already happened, and maybe they were just there to taunt him. Another thing he couldn't save.

"Where are you going?" John asked his son as Sam drove past the town and out of it.

"I-I just have a feeling." Was all Sam said as they drove past trees and other houses on the outskirts. Finally the reached another town and houses became closer together and bigger. Sam drove past the town again and toward more trees until he reached another town. This one was bigger he could tell and he saw restaurants, a diner, an ice skating rink and then more houses. He turned down one and kept driving until he turned down another, unsure of what he where he was going but it was almost as if he had an automatic map in his head. Finally he turned down another street, the houses getting bigger and more cars in the driveway.

The hair on his neck stood up and finally he spotted something that didn't fit in with the rest of the houses on the street, what he had been looking for. His mind involuntarily flashed to his vision and he could see the house clearly in his mind and when he blinked it was in front of him.

He shook his head.

"This the one from your vision?" His dad asked, whom he had forgotten was even there.

"Yeah." Sam said and went to get out, making sure the ID was in his pocket.

There was a growing crowd in front of the house. Shocked expressions were on each of their faces, some people were whispering, others were crying. Some cops stood around the yellow tape pushing people away before they could get too close. An ambulance was parked by the driveway and there was a fire truck blocking the neighbors yard, obviously no use for the truck but the fire fighters were in the ruins.

Sam walked up to a balding man who held a younger girl, rubbing her back as she cried.

"What happened?" He asked looking to see that his Dad had went to the other side.

The guy glanced at him, his face pale. "No one knows, it happened last night, a huge fire, no one, no one survived"

"Whose house?"

The girl whimpered and the guy shook a bit. "The Daughtry's." But that's all he said as he lead the girl away.

"It's okay Jackie, it's alright honey." He whispered.

No one else around was saying anything. Just staring at the house, shocked. It didn't look like he was getting in their anyway today, fake fire inspector badge or not. He'd have to wait till tomorrow and do some research on his own. Why would the demon come here? What was the importance?

Looking at the house he felt his stomach roll and his head pound. He suddenly felt empty. He looked around for his dad but wanting Dean there. God, he wanted Dean there. He looked away quickly and then met his Dad by the car.

"Find anything out?" Sam asked.

"Sulfur."

"You?"

"The Daughtry's? No survivor's but I don't think this started from the baby's nursery. I think this was different."

His dad shook his head and they got in the car.

When Sam drove away he felt like he was leaving something behind.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! Hope you enjoy!**

Dean bolted upright and his eyes looked quickly around him. When his eyes settled on the person sitting a few feet from him, he got up quickly. "You son of a bitch, where is she!? Where's my family." He was shaking and ready to run at the man but the guy held up his hand.

"It's alright, Dean." The guy told him, the same one he met when he woke up in the car in front of the house, right before he started his new life.

"It's alright! You said we were safe, you said that the demon-."

The guy held up a hand again. "We were wrong and for that I am very deeply sorry."

Dean shook his head. "Where. Are. They?" He said slowly and put emphasis on each word, still shaking.

"In the other room, they are a bit shaking up." The man said, apologetically. Dean wanted to know whom 'they' included. He blinked and then winced at the image burned into his retina, Buffy above him, just like Jess had been with Sam, just how Mom had been.

"Buffy, is she, she's-." He broke off trying to verbalize his fears and swallowed.

"She's in the other room with the children."

Dean almost passed out. She wasn't dead. She wasn't dead. They were all alive, but how?

As if the guy had read his thoughts he smiled. "We have our ways, Mr. Winchester."

"Then why all this? Why worry?" Dean asked.

"Because there are some things we can not protect you from, deals we could not have kept from being the made." The man said and shook his head, knowledge unknown to Dean showing in his eyes.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked. He hadn't been able to ask all the questions before when he met him, so know was the chance. Although he really wanted to get back to his family.

"We only have so much power Dean and there were to many events in the future that we could have not prevented if this did not occur. And it was destiny for you to meet, we just thought you two should meet sooner." The man said folding his hands in front of him as if he were pleased with himself.

Dean shook his head. There was that word again, destiny. He wondered how much of it had affected him already, would have affected him if this had not occurred.

"So this is better? The demon has found us now; he must know I'm alive. What do we do now?" Dean asked, looking him straight in the eye. He didn't care who this guy was or thought he was he wanted answers, his family, both of them were at risk.

"Well." The guy said. "How about we go and see Buffy and the children?"

Dean nodded and the man stood up and motioned toward the door. He opened it and stepped through to another plain room where Buffy was curled on a bed, rocking Celia, Izzy and Aidan close at her sides.

Celia ran to him when she spotted him. "Daddy!" She said and burst into tears.

He picked her up and rubbed her back. "Shh." He said, trying to comfort her as best he could.

"Daddy, why are we here? Mommy wasn't feeling so good and Izzy was crying and Aidan was too and I'm scared." The little girl said quickly and her grip on Dean tightened.

"It's okay sweetie, everything is going to be okay." He told her.

She rested her head on his shoulder and he walked to the bed. Izzy looked up, her cheeks were tearstained and her eyes red rimmed. He gave her a kiss on the forehead and Aidan a gentle rub on the back before he faced Buffy. She was pale and her eyes were puffy but she managed a weak smile. Dean placed Celia down next to Aidan and grabbed Buffy. He kissed her quickly and then hugged her, not being able to imagine what it would be like to lose her and the fact that he came so close to it scared him so much he just held her tightly. She held on to and she let herself a moment to relax in his arms, not having to worry about being strong for the kids.

Dean let his arms grab the rest Celia, Aidan and Izzy and he pulled them into a tight squeeze. He kissed the top of Buffy's hair and then turned to the guy who stood waiting patiently.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"Well, we'll have to relocate you, change your names and erase your memories of this event."

"What?" Aidan asked behind Dean.

Izzy whimpered and Celia clutched to Dean's shirt.

"Sweetie, it's alright." Buffy rasped.

"No, why can't we just go home."

"There is no more home, child." The man said and Dean glared at him.

"What?" Izzy asked breathlessly.

"Stop." Dean told him and turned to his daughter.

"The fire, it burned the house down Izz, we have to do this. Trust me kiddo, I don't want to but it's the only way we can be safe." He struggled to get the words out and watched as her face crumpled.

"I don't…why, what happened?"

"May I?" The man asked Dean and he grunted.

"Isabella, the world you children know is far more extensive than you can imagine. There are things out there that unfortunately belong in your nightmares. Vampires, ghosts, demons, they all exist."

Izzy started to laugh and Aidan snorted. "I bet." Aidan said.

"No, he's not kidding." Buffy croaked out.

"Izz, you know your strength? How you can suddenly do things you've never been able to before? And the dreams you've been having and the speed and reflexes?"

Izzy nodded at her mother. "Yeah?"

"Well, you're what we call a slayer." She looked over to the guy. "Am I right?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"A what?" Izzy asked, confused.

"A vampire slayer, honey. You fight the demons, vampires and other evil creatures." She sighed. "I was one."

"Was?"

"Yeah, now there are many girls who are vampire slayers."

"Oh." Izzy said and took a deep breath. "Is this a bad thing?"

"No, not at all!" The man answered quickly before Buffy could say anything. "You will help save the world, my dear."

"Wonder woman." Aidan remarked.

"So that stuff? Vampires, demons, ghosts? It's all real?" Aidan asked, breaking the silence that had descended in the room.

"Yep." Dean added.

"What about Santa?" Celia piped up.

Dean frowned and looked at Buffy. "Well…" Buffy continued.

Another door opening saved Buffy. The guy Dean recognized as Whistler came in and walked over to the guy and whispered something in his ear. The man stood up after a minute. He sighed.

"I'm sorry to make this quick but we have to relocate you now. Everything is ready."

"So soon?" Dean asked sarcastically.

"There have been other issues that have made us speed this up, if you will." He commented.

"Now, you will live under the aliases of the Seavers. Whatever your first names were before they still are now."

"Lacking in originality?" Dean commented, getting close to Buffy and his children.

The man ignored him. "You will be relocated and have no memory of anything but what we have added for you."

Dean started to protest. "Nothing from our old lives?"

"I'm sorry. Trust me, it's better off this way. The less you remember of your old life the less you'll be tempted to contact them." Off of Dean's glare the man added, "We cannot risk it." He nodded at them. "Be safe, take care."

Dean was about to say something when once again, everything went black.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Sorry for not updating in a while! Keep reading and reviewing, please! Enjoy!**

Daniel Seaver woke up with a start. His heart was pounding and he had to take a few huge breaths before his breathing was back to normal. He blinked a couple times at the room in front of him, clearing away the strange images from the nightmare and welcoming in the sight around him.

"Honey?" A voice said beside him as his wife stirred. "You okay?"

He smiled as she lifted her head off the pillow, looking beautiful with her hair sticking out in an unmistakable bed-head fashion. "Yes." He answered her before bending down to give her a quick kiss.

Her forehead is creased with worry as he stares at the window for another minute but she doesn't say anything to him.

He lies back seconds later, snuggling closer to her under the warm blankets. She rests her forehead against his and measures her breathing with his. "Hmm." She says after a second, feeling light all of a sudden as if there isn't something holding her down.

They lay like that for another couple of minutes until they hear a noise from downstairs, a clang followed by a crash.

Sarah laughs lightly and puts a hand to her forehead. "That time already?"

He swings his legs over he bed. "Yep, Ceil's up."

Sarah puts on a robe and slippers and follows her husband down the staircase and through the hallway, past the living room and dinning room and into the kitchen.

The sight before them reveals a six-year-old Celia climbing onto the counter and trying to get into the cabinets. Sarah sighs, "Ceil?"

The little girl turns around with a grin. "Hey mommy, hi daddy! I wanted to make breakfast."

"Honey, you could've woken us up first." Daniel added gently.

"It was a surprise."

Sarah couldn't help but laugh as she walks over to the cabinet to retrieve her youngest. "Thank you, baby, but next time why don't you ask your brother or sister?"

The little girl's face scrunches up. "I wanted to do it by myself."

"You can, honey, but someone has to watch you okay?"

Celia considers that for a second. "Okay, Mommy."

"Okay, baby." She says, running her hand through her daughter's hair. The contents for pancakes are already out on the counter and it looks like her daughter was attempting to get the syrup.

"Why don't you go wake up your brother and sister, okay?"

"Ooookay." Celia says and walks toward the stairs.

Daniel smiles at his wife. "Morning." She says brightly and he laughs. "Morning!"

"Good Morning, officers." Giles says politely, offering a quick smile to the two men standing by the yellow tape around the charred remains of the house.

The taller one, but younger one, looks a little surprised when he sees them but a quick turn around shows him that there are no others around for the guy to be speaking too. "Uh, hello. Can we help you?"

"Yes," Giles says, he looks at the house. "Can you tell us what happened?"

The younger one looks uneasy and the man beside him steps in front of him. "Fire." He tells them gruffly.

"Were there any fatalities?" Giles questions again.

"Why do you want to know?" The older man asks suspiciously.

"Well," Giles pauses for a second. "We are friends of the family."

"What were their names?" The older man questions.

Giles seems flustered at this point, the task being more difficult then he imagined. "Umm."

Willow steps forward suddenly and looks the younger one in the eye. "They aren't cops." She tells them.

"What?" Dawn asks. She looks at them. "What are they?"

The older one is reaching to the back of his jeans and Willow's eyes snap to his face. "We don't want trouble." She tells him quickly.

"Oh yeah? What do you want?"

She pauses for a second. "I think-." She starts. "I think we're on the same side."

"How's that?"

"You don't think this was a natural fire, do you? Something else caused it didn't it?"

The younger one's eyes narrowed. "How do you know?"

"I'm Willow." She turns around slightly and points behind her. "That's Giles, Dawn, and Xander. Let's just say we're experts on this sort of thing."

Beside him, Dad's eyebrows raise. "Yeah?"

"Ever hear of Sunnydale, California?" Willow questions.

He's heard of it. It was all over the papers while he was in Stanford. A couple of his friends were planning a trip there, to see the huge hole in the ground. Dad had also suspicions about a lot of supernatural activity there, but not enough to ever go there. He said it always seemed to cover it up.

"I've heard of it." Dad replies.

"Ever heard of Slayers?" Willow asks.

Dad seems to think about that. "The myth?"

"The truth."

Dad tenses beside him. His shoulders straightened.

Willow nods. "I think we should talk." With that she looks at Sam. "Maybe you could help us, vice versa." 


	14. Chapter 14

** A/N:**Thanks for the reviews everyone! Please keep it up, they help me update! I hope you guys enjoy! Thanks again!

"So how long have you been…" Giles seemed at loss for words as to what to call them. Demon hunters?

The older man, whose name he'd learned was John, didn't answer and Giles didn't want to press but the younger one, Sam, answered for him.

"It's kind of the family business."

"Ah," Giles said and looked down at his teacup.

"So, what are you doing here?" John's rough voice made Giles look up. Willow answered for him.

"Well, we're looking for slayers in the area. We believe that one of the girls lived in the house that burnt down."

"And we're looking for my sister," Dawn added looking at both men.

"Your sister?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, she went missing a couple months ago. She's a slayer too."

"Isn't there only supposed to be one?" John asked.

Giles took off his glasses for that. "Yes, but we-well Willow really-made all the potential slayers into slayers."

"Really?" Sam asked.

Willow nodded. "Yes. Now we are trying to find all of them. They don't know what there power is and they could get hurt."

Sam turned to his father. "Could the demon go after this girl? This slayer?"

John shook his head. "I don't know."

"Demon?" Giles asked.

"Yes," John looked at his son. "We've been looking for one from some time."

"What kind of demon is it?" Xander asked. He had been quiet until now. Watching the exchange without saying anything and only taking a sip out of his coffee mug every few minutes.

John glanced at Xander. "An old one. I haven't had a chance to get much information on it. Just found out it was a demon last year."

"Oh," Xander said.

"I thought you said that you've been after it for a long time?" Dawn asked.

"We have. I just didn't know what it was yet."

"How did you come across it? If you don't mind me asking?"

John sighed and looked at Sam again. "When Sam was sixth months old. That demon killed my wife. We've been looking for it ever since. Last year it killed Sam's girlfriend. And than we found it a couple months ago…"

He trailed off.

"What happened a couple months ago?" Dawn whispered.

"It killed my brother," Sam answered back.

Willow paled. "I'm so sorry."

Sam looked away for a second and John nodded. "Thank you. But now, we have to find it. We think it burnt down that house. It might do it again."

Daniel walked downstairs, dressed and ready for walk. He heard noises from the kitchen and smiled, the rest of the family must be up.

"Morning Dad," Izzy said taking a sip of orange juice before placing it back on the table and slinging a book bag over her shoulder and grabbing a set of keys hanging by the back door.

"I'll start up the car, 'kay Aidan?"

The older boy nodded and stuffed a piece of toast into his mouth. "See you guys later," He mumbled between chews.

"Bye Aidan!" Celia chirped.

"Have a good day guys!" Sarah added as she finished drying something by the sink.

A few seconds later they heard Aidan's jeep pull out of the driveway.

"Heading to work?" Sarah asked as she gave him a quick kiss before going to gather the plates left on the table.

Daniel nodded. "George wanted to go over some things before the client came in."

"Don't work to hard," Sarah told him.

Daniel shook his head. "I won't."

He gave her another kiss and then reached down and gave his youngest a kiss before grabbing his keys.

"Love you!" He called.

Two voices echoed back to him.

"What do you want to do today, Celia Belia?"

Ceil kicked her legs under the table as Sarah put the rest of the stuff in the dishwasher. She wiped her hands on a towel and sat next to her daughter.

The little girl shrugged. "I don't know."

Sarah rested her head on her palm. "We can do loads of things. Do you want to go to the park? Then we can get lunch? Maybe do a little shopping after?"

Celia nodded and Sarah ran a finger down the little girl's nose. "Okay, let's go get dressed. Then we'll go."

Daniel turned into the parking lot of Seaver, Donovan and Kline. He pulled into his parking spot and looked at the sign with his name on it. He didn't want to come into work today. He wanted to stay home and be with his wife and children. It probably had something to do with the nightmare he had the night before. The vivid, terrifying nightmare that seemed so real. It wasn't though. This was and as soon as he got inside he would be able to stop thinking about it. He would even call Sarah to see how she was. Maybe he'd leave early. Or if she were going out they'd meet for lunch. Yeah, that would make him feel better.

Sighing, he turned the car off and grabbed his suitcase off of the passenger seat. He locked the door and walked toward the building. It was slightly imposing. When he had first started out they had worked out of a small colonial but when they won their first big case, they moved to a bigger, modern building.

It had a glass front and a water fountain with a sign that had his name and his associates on it. He shook his head as he glanced back at it. It still felt like a dream and any minute he would wake up in a different place, a different life.

Rolling his eyes he walked up the steps and toward the glass doors. He pushed them open. George Donovan usually got here at the crack of dawn and opened up. He didn't have a wife or kids though, so he was there all the time.

"Morning Mr. Seaver," Alicia their receptionist said.

"Morning Alicia." He said.

"Mr. Donovan is in a meeting but he said to go right in," She informed him.

"Thank you," He said and walked turned to walk up the flight of stairs to his office.

"Danny, hey," George said when he walked past the office door.

Dan stopped and the door opened as George came out. "I was just talking to our new client. We got to go see him."

"Where is he?"

George stared at him for a second. "County. You alright, Dan?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. What did he do?"

"Bizarre." George said shaking his head and gesturing toward the steps. "Guy hits a car after speeding from his house. Nobody really knows where he went because he abandoned the car on some road near the border. But he hijacks another car and goes home, knocks his wife unconscious and leaves. He was walking down the street or something when he passed out. He doesn't remember a thing. He wants to plead insanity."

"He hurt anyone?" Dan asked, walking down the steps.

"The woman whose' car he stole says that she was thrown from the car, can't remember if he picked her up or if she ran. She had a mild concussion and a bruised rib. The wife will be fine. They are still trying to figure out what happened when he was in New York."

"Did you talk to the wife?"

"Not yet. I wanted to talk to him in person first." George said, giving Alicia a wave before pushing the door open.

"Huh."

"Huh what?"

"What's the point?"

"Well that's what we're going to figure out Danny-boy."

"People are crazy," Dan muttered, getting into the passenger seat of George's BMW.

"And you're the idiot who defends them," George grinned at him.

Craig Wells is six three, big boned and he has no neck. He has blonde neck and red blotches on his face.

"Mr. Wells, we spoke over phone. I'm George Donovan, this is my associate Daniel Seaver."

Craig nods at them. "No one else would take the case. I'm glad you guys can."

"Why wouldn't they take the case?" Dan couldn't help but ask.

Craig stared at him. "They all think I'm insane. But I want to plead insanity right? I mean I'm not lying. I don't remember anything. I just blacked out. Next thing I know I'm on the ground with a cop standing over me. They handcuff me and then I end up here. But I didn't do it."

"Okay, Mr. Wells," George says.

"If you don't mind, we'd like to talk to your wife?"

"Go ahead." Craig muttered. "She'll tell you I wasn't myself."

George nodded. "Alright, Mr. Wells. One of us will be back tomorrow alright?"

"Okay." Craig sighed.

"Here's my card, if you need it," George said, sliding his card across the table.

"Thanks," George said, inspecting it.

"You're welcome," George said and gave him a smile.

"Goodbye now," George said and grabbed Daniel.

In the car George kept glancing at him. "You alright?"

Dan shifted his position. "I don't know. I've felt like I've done this before."

George barked out a laugh as he turned onto a street. "Been to county? Hell man, probably more than me."

"No, I mean, this case. The blacking out. The behavior. It's familiar but different."

George shrugged. "You probably read about it. Maybe Andy took on a similar case."

"Yeah I don't know. I just can't-,'

"Can't what?"

"Never mind. It's nothing. Are we going to see the wife?"

George nodded. "Yeah."

Danny nodded trying to shake the feeling of Déjà vu.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** Sorry I haven't updated in a while. And thanks to Kriti for pointing out a mistake! Sorry. This has also been cross-posted at Twisting The Hellmouth. I hope to have a new chapter up soon!

"This family? Who were they?" Giles asked as they sat in a motel room around the corner from the diner they had just been at.

Sam looked up from the table where he had been typing. "The family was the Daughtry's. Um, Daniel, Sarah and there three kids, Aidan, Isabella and Celia."

He looked over at his father. "They didn't have a six month old."

"Which breaks pattern." John said.

Sam nodded and looked at the others. "It's a pattern with the demon. He goes after six-month year olds and their families for some reason. But," He looked back at the laptop. "Not this family. Why would he do that?"

"Maybe because of the slayer?" Willow asked.

John shrugged. "It's a possibility. But after…after what happened the demon would most likely be coming after us."

"Maybe it's a distraction." Sam supplied and typed a few things into the keyboard.

"Maybe."

"That's weird."

"What?" Xander asked.

"There are no pictures at all. Nothing."

"Why would there be?" Dawn asked.

"Well, Daniel Daughtry was a big lawyer. There's pictures of all his other associates but not him." Sam typed a few other things into the computer. "And there's not much in any records. Its almost as if they were hiding."

"Like witness protection hiding or felons?"

He looked at his father. "Almost like hunters."

"Either that or something or someone is keeping them way under the radar."

"That's interesting."

"I think we need to find out more about this family." Sam told them.

Sarah walked hand in hand with Celia after parking the car in the lot. "You want to swing?" She asked.

The little girl nodded and Sarah let her run to the swings.

"Come on Mommy!" The little girl giggled.

Sarah jogged over and pulled back the swing as Celia laughed.

"Higher!"

Sarah went to the other side and pulled her daughter by her feet as she giggled. "I'm going to the moooon!" She exclaimed.

"The moon huh?"

Her daughter nodded. "Slides!"

They ran over to the slides where she went down a couple of times before she got bored and went over by monkey bars. Celia was a ball of energy, climbing all the way to the other side and back again. Then another girl asked her to play and Sarah stepped away but watched closely.

"They look like there having fun." A voice said next to her. Sarah turned as another woman stepped next to her.

"Yeah," She smiled.

"I'm Natalie Gray, Melanie's mom." She held out her hand.

Sarah shook it. "I'm Sarah Seaver, Celia's mom."

"Nice to meet you."

Natalie gestured to a bench and Sarah sat. "Have you lived here long?" Natalie asked.

Sarah thought about it for a second, it should have been an easy question. "Yes," She replied after a minute. "We moved here from before my son Aidan was born."

"We only have Melanie, she's are one and only. We live down the street on Rosman."

"Oh really? I live on Lake," Sarah replied.

"No way, that's right around the corner." She laughed. "Wow, I bet the girls would love that."

Sarah turned to look at her daughter. Celia was laughing along with a light brunette haired girl with freckles.

The girls came over. "Mommy! Can I go over to Celia's?"

The mothers exchanged glances. "It's okay with me, it's okay with you?"

Sarah nodded. "Sure," She smiled and stood up, walking to the car.

"This is it." George said and glanced out the window at the cozy looking house. "Looks normal enough."

"Well, you know what they say. Things aren't always what they appear."

"Definitely." George said and got out of the car and went up the walk. He straightened his tie and then rang the doorbell.

"No one home?" He asked as he rang it again.

"George?" Daniel asked and nodded toward the door where there was red smeared. He pushed at it and it swung open.

The two lawyers exchanged looks.

Daniel stepped forward but George grabbed him. "Whoa, whoa Dan, maybe we shouldn't go in. This could be a crime scene."

Daniel shook his head. "We should check, George. She could be hurt."

Daniel took another step and looked around cautiously. Blood was smeared again on the side by the door and it looked like a handprint. "That can't be good."

He walked down the hallway with George close behind him. He looked in the kitchen and dining room nothing. There was a hallway off to the side. All the doors were closed except one. He made a movement with his hand to George and the other man rolled his eyes. "What are we in the army?"

Daniel walked slowly down the hallway and paused at the open door. He pushed it open.

"Damnit." He said at the site. Mrs. Wells lay on the floor, blood all over her and with her throat slashed.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: **Oh wow, I know it has been so long since I've updated. I just got a sudden inspiration and thought I'd get a chapter in. If you are still with me and are reading this, thanks so much! If you realyl wan't more, I'll continue!

* * *

"We just have to finish up here and then I'll be home. Do you want me to pick up anything for dinner?" Daniel asked his wife. He stood on the sidewalk of the once quiet street, his eyes focused on something other than the police officers and other emergency personal making their way into the Wells home.

"If you need to be there, Dan, it's fine, I understand," Sarah said.

"No," he said, reaching up to rub away the start of a headache. "Unfortunately there's nothing we can do here. And I think I should be home anyway."

"Okay. Well, I think Aidan is at Josh's and Izzie's at Mackenzie's and I'm going to head out with the munchkin in a minute. Do you want to meet somewhere?"

Daniel could feel his stomach rumble. "Yes, that sounds excellent. Where?"

"I think Celia's craving pancakes and I'm too tired to cook. Can we go to the diner?"

"Sounds excellent, I can go for some steak and eggs."

"Alright, babe. I'll meet you there in a half-hour?" Sarah asked.

"Okay, I love you."

"Love you too." She answered and then hung up.

George walked over, his lips set in a grim line. "CSI found sulfur, Dan. What kind of guy leaves sulfur?"

Something went off in Daniel's head, something distant but it was there. He couldn't follow it though, so just put it away for later. "I don't know. Are you going to talk to Wells?"

George looked down at his shoes. "Yeah. I don't want to, but yeah."

"Poor guy."

"Why? He's the prime suspect." George said, looking up to fix his eyes directly on Dan.

"What, he sent someone to kill his wife? I don't think so. You heard what they said; she was killed a few hours ago. Wells has been in county for longer than that. And how does a guy go from stealing a car to having someone leave sulfur at a crime scene?"

George looked over Dan's shoulder. "I don't know but I better go. You know how county is about letting lawyers in late."

Dan nodded, reached in his pocket for his keys. "You want me to come with you?"

George shook his head. "No man. I heard you talking, go see your family."

Dan smiled. "Thanks." He took out his keys and walked to his car; glad he and George hadn't driven together.

****

Natalie walked her and Celia to the door. "We'll have to do this again soon!"

"Oh, definitely," Sarah smiled, smoothing her daughter's hair down next to her. "They had lots of fun."

"Oh so did I. With Evan working so much, I haven't been able to just talk to anyone. We should go to dinner one night."

Sarah could sympathize. She couldn't remember the last time she had been out with grownups. Not that she didn't mind being around her children, and it was just nice to have someone older to talk with. "That sounds great. You have my number, give me a call!"

Natalie nodded. "Will do, say bye Mel."

"Bye Celia!" The little girl said and Celia waved and her and Sarah walked out to the car.

"Did you have fun, baby?"

"Yeah! You should see Melanie's dollhouse mom! It's so big!"

"Yeah? Did you tell her that Aidan and Daddy were making you one?"

Celia gave her mother a look. "I said they were trying to."

Sarah laughed. "Okay kiddo. Well I think we should go the diner. Mommy's too tired to cook."

"That's okay!" Celia said and opened the door to the car and climbed in.

Sarah got in to the car and started it up, driving to the diner.

****

"I don't have a badge for you so just go with my lead." Sam said to Willow as they walked toward the police station.

Willow looked straight ahead. "That's not a problem. They'll think that we called ahead and set this up."

"Witch?" Sam asked.

"Yeah." She gave him a small smile at his expression. "Not to many good experiences, huh?"

"Unfortunately no."

"I'm a good one." Willow said as they opened the door.

"I hope so." Sam muttered.

"Agent Wallace, Agent Cary, we spoke on the phone. I'm Detective Becker."

Sam gave a nod to the man and the tension in him seemed to release. "We had questions on-"

"The Daughtry's, yeah." The man looked around. "Let's go into my office."

They walked the a few feet into his office. Sam would have called it a closet. It was small enough to fit a desk and two chairs. The papers and files spread out on the desk and tacked to the wall made it more claustrophobic. Sam sat and Willow glanced at the photos before taking her own seat.

"Honestly?" the man said, closing the door. "We can't find anything. It's as if all records of them just vanished. The computer says they were here but we can't get anything more than that. Nothing on family or anything more substantial. I can't even find a picture."

Sam's brow furrowed. "Did they have any enemies?"

"No, I know that. My daughter went to school with Celia, they're youngest. I played golf with Dan once. They were normal people."

"Did you find anything from the house? Anything to suggest what might have happened?"

"Well, it was electrical. It had to be."

Willow made a movement beside him and Sam ignored it.

"What about possessions? Did you get anything?"

Becker shook his head. "No."

"Tell the truth." Willow said suddenly.

Becker wiped a hand across his mouth. "There were no bones, nothing to suggest they were actually killed. It's crazy and the way we can't find anything? It's as if they just disappeared."

Sam nodded once, not sure they were going to get much of anything else. He looked at Willow and she shrugged.

"Well, thank you for your time."

"You know, speaking of time. It was kind of like one day they just showed up you know. Now that I think about it, I don't remember ever meeting them, just kind of knowing them."

Willow and Sam exchanged a look and then walked out of there.

Dawn drummed her fingers against the counter of the diner. "I don't even know what we're doing here."

"We're getting food, Dawnie. We're the designated food-getters."

"No, Xander. Buffy's not here. Giles and Willow have been pulled into whatever it is Sam and John were talking about. I feel bad about their brother but the slayer before is dead and we're no closer to finding Buffy."

"What if the coven was right? What if Buffy is by the slayer? What are we going to do then if we leave and go to where Spike and Angel are looking?"

"Spike and Angel have a better idea then we did and it wasn't even the coven. It was one girl, who apparently sees all and tells all. Willow wasn't sure."

Xander gave her a small smile. "Buffy's fine. She's probably chasing down slayers as we speak. But we should find out about this girl, you know that. And we're helping Sam and John."

"I thought you said you didn't like Sam because he was taller than you."

"I feel bad for them and they are investigating the same thing we are."

The waitress came out with a bag of food and placed it on the counter. "37.05 is your total."

"Okay," Xander said and reached into his pocket and pulled out two twenties.

She reached into the register and gave him change. "Thanks," She said and looked at something behind him. "Dan, long time no see? Where's the wife and kids?"

Xander turned around to see a man about 6'1 with a slight stubble who looked a little like John. He looked at Dawn and shrugged, grabbing the bag and turning away as the man said something about his wife and girl being on the way.

"Let's get this to the rest of them, Dawn." Xander said as they walked out.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I'm so glad you guys like it!**

"Don't you want to study Chemistry?" Mackenzie held up a bright orange textbook with a picture of a bubbling beaker on it and a table of elements.

Izzy frowned. "No."

"So then you came to my house, to use my computer," Her best friend said.

"Yep," Izzy said turning back around to click a link to a website.

"And you couldn't use your own?"

"I'm getting a new one next week but for now I have to share with Aidan."

"So?"

"He'd ask too many questions and probably would get worried or something," Izzy said.

"Should I get worried?" Mackenzie asked and got up off her bedroom floor and peered over her best friend's shoulder. "Vampires? Seriously?"

"Yeah, I can't find a good website."

"That doesn't explain why you're looking them up."

"I'm curious."

"About creatures of the night? Read an Anne Rice novel."

"Not that kind of curious," Izzy said and scanned the text on the screen.

"Why the sudden curiosity?" Mackenzie asked and pulled up another chair next to Izzy's.

"I've been having these weird nightmares. And I haven't watched any scary movies, since…well I don't even remember but I haven't. I haven't even read about vampires and all of a sudden, wham, I get this nightmare."

"Maybe it's Freudian."

Izzy threw Mackenzie a look. "It's not some dream analysis thing, Mac. These things were vivid and it was almost like I was there. But I was seeing it all through someone else you know? A different vantage point."

"Um, okay?"

"Yeah and that's not all. I've been feeling stronger. Like I took steroids or something." Off of her friend's look she sighed. "I haven't."

"Maybe you're just stressed about APs and stuff."

Izzy chewed on the inside of her lip. "No, that's not it." She sighed and clicked out the window on the computer. "I'll do this at home, I know you have a test tomorrow."

Mackenzie bit her lip. "Izz…"

"I'm fine. Really? I probably heard something on the TV. Dreams are weird like that." She smiled. "I'll walk home, okay?"

Mackenzie got up but Izzy rushed out the door before her friend could stand.

The fresh air outside felt good. She felt energized all of a sudden and connected. But it was frustrating not to be able to know where it came from.

For the first time in a while she was upset that her house was only three doors down. She wanted to walk, run, she wanted adventure. Adventure didn't mean getting grabbed all of a sudden, with a hand over her mouth so she couldn't scream. She should've just been careful what she wished for.

****

"And I'm going to name her Ariella after the mermaid. But Arielle's going to need brothers and sisters, so we'll have to get more, right mom?" Celia asked as they walked toward the entrance of the diner.

"I think we can get two fish for now, okay? We'll talk to Daddy about it."

"Okay!" Celia smiled and Sarah opened the door to the diner.

She always seemed to know where her husband was. It was like some weird instinct. She spotted them as soon as they walked in, even among the sea of people sitting at tables or waiting to be seated. The diner offered cheap and good food so everyone in town came.

"Hiya Daddy! I had a play date today. Can I have a fish? Mel has fish. They're pretty and different colors. Mel gets to feed them and take care of them. Her mom and dad named them Scout and Jem after a book. Did you read that book? Mel said it's about a lawyer with a funny name. I told her you're a lawyer."

Sarah laughed at her daughter. She leaned in to kiss Dan. "She's a little hyper." She said as they broke away.

Dan went to tickle Celia. "I can see that."

"Are you ready to order?" A waiter came over and took their drink orders and because they were so hungry, took their food orders too.

Celia started humming and coloring, happily occupied with what she was doing.

"Are you alright?"

Dan sighed. "Yeah. I like when a case gets interesting but this is bizarre. There should be nothing to it. But it just keeps getting weirder and weirder. We're going to be into this for a couple days."

Sarah reached out and took his hand. "You'll do fine."

Dan smiled. "I hope so."

Celia held up her place mat. "Look Mommy, it's a castle."

"Pretty, baby, right, Daddy?"

Dan was about to comment that his daughter's picture was much better than any stick figures he could try to draw when his cell phone rang. He sighed. "Nice, sweetie," And gave his wife a look that he tried to convey as I'm-really-sorry-I'll-be-right-back.

Flipping his phone opened he walked out of the restaurant. "Hello?"

"Dan," George said.

"Yeah?"

"He's dead."

"What?"

"Well's is dead."

"Shit." Dan's eyebrows instantly came together and he felt that headache returning. "How?"

"Just like his wife. But the guards say no one was in here. No one. The cameras are all messed up. Either they're lying or he killed himself."

"Son of a-" Dan let out a deep breath. "What are they saying now?"

"That's just it, they're saying nothing. Except that they want us to stick around. Apparently our reputation as good lawyers precedes us. Even without no one to defend they're keeping us on."

"Um, okay. Can they do that?"

"I guess."

Dan nodded as if George was in front of him. "Alright George, I'll talk to you tomorrow. Let me know if anything else happens."

"Will do. Bye."

Dan felt a weird feeling in his stomach. It felt like anticipation or maybe it was dread. Whatever it was he didn't want to feel it when he went back in the restaurant so he took a few breaths in the fresh air and then went back in with his wife and daughter.

***

Giles had to admit; John was good at what he did. The papers spread out before him and the old leather bound journal seemed to have an abundant amount of useful information and right at their fingertips. They didn't have to pour through books.

Giles looked down at his teacup. He missed Buffy. He had thought that they would get some peace, her especially, once all the potentials had turned. But it didn't look like that was going to happen and right now Giles would have been fine with a stressful day training slayers. He just wanted his slayer home and safe.

John wiped a hand across his mouth. "This area has been clean for a while. No patterns or omens. That also breaks pattern. The demon's covering this up."

Giles didn't know what to say. He didn't know much about this demon although he might have recalled hearing about him in passing. Buffy never dealt with these kinds of demons before and from what Giles was hearing now, he was glad.

"You have kids?"

"Pardon me?"

"Do you have kids Mr. Giles?"

Giles took of his glasses and cleaned them. "Please, call me Rupert and no, I do not. But I do have Buffy, she's been my charge for a while now and we've become close. I would consider her the closest I have to a daughter. All of them actually, Xander and Willow, Dawn."

John nodded and stared down at the ring on his hand. "A few days ago I thought my kid was dead and it was my fault. I've been away from my sons for so long and now, I just want it to be over. For me to just be able to keep my sons safe and I tried to do that for so long that I missed things."

Giles nodded. "I first met her as a teenager and I've seen her grow up into a remarkable women. I know how it is to want to protect someone, Mr. Winchester."

John nodded. "Call me John."

And if they didn't before, they respected each other now. Giles genuinely wanted to help him now, if he had any doubts about this before they were gone. "I will help you find your son, John."

"I will help you find your slayer, Rupert."

And they smiled and that's when Sam and Willow came in.

"Did you find anything?"

Willow shook her head and Sam threw the keys on a table by the door. "No. But they don't have any records. It's almost as if they're memories we're wiped or something. Can the demon do that?"

John shook his head. "I don't think so." He turned to Giles. "Anything you know that can do that?"

Giles shook his head. "Well there are many things that would posses that sort of ability but it's not likely they would. It would have to be something greater but for what purpose?"

Willow sat down on one of the beds. "I might be able to do a sort of spell, to see if there was any magick used in the area. Or to see if anything did something big."

Sam looked at his father. They weren't really used to witches. John nodded. "Alright."

****

Izzy tried hard to bite at the fingers or kick or flail but the person had her tight. She screamed against the hand and heard the guy; she could assume it was a guy, struggle against her. Her mind was racing for an awful minute of all the terrible possibilities before adrenaline kicked in and suddenly she lashed out and whipped around, facing her attacker.

What she saw surprised her. He was a short guy in awkward clothing and an odd hat. Instead of running, she said, "Who the hell are you?" Between deep breaths.

"Name's Whistler. Thanks for kicking my ass."

"Why the hell did you grab me?"

"I didn't mean to scare you kid, it's just that I don't want to draw any attention to myself. I've already caused enough trouble."

"What? What do you mean?"

Whistler sighed. "Look. You've been having weird dreams right? Freaky things have been happening?"

She nodded and Whistler continued. "I'm sorry to do this to you kid but you're a slayer. Along with thousands of other girls and theirs someone after your family."

"What's a slayer?"

"A girl who fights the things that goes bump in the night. Vamps, demons, and other dark forces. And there's a dark force after your family. And they can't know about it. We need to protect them in the most normal way possible. Which is why, it's up to you kid. I'm sorry. I know this is a lot to put on your plate but you're the only chance we've got."

"Why?"

Whistler dug into his pocket and pulled out a card. "On the back of that is an address. In two days got there at six. I'll be there and I'll explain. And kid, I really am sorry."

And then he walked away and all she could do was stare after him.

****

Dawn opened the door first to see Willow on the bed with a laptop. John and Giles were in the corner at the table and Sam was on the bed with a few papers spread out in front of him.

"We've brought sustenance." Xander said as he shut the door.

"Great, I'm starved." Willow said and closed the laptop. She turned to where Giles and John were sitting. "We can do the spell tomorrow at noon? Is that okay?"

Giles and John exchanged a look. "That's fine." John replied.

Xander put down the bags on the table.

"So, the car? Restored or in perfect condition?"

Sam smiled at the mention of the car. "Restored. We were in a car accident and my dad and I fixed it."

"It's a great car." Xander said.

Sam shook his head. "Dean told me he'd kill me if anything were to happen to it." He looked at his father. "We were in Jericho and I drove it through a house to take Constance Welsh home."

John laughed. "Whose Constance Welsh?" Dawn asked. She couldn't be angry anymore. She felt bad, she liked Sam, and she knew how it felt to lose a sibling.

"She was this ghost that my dad," Sam threw another look at his father. "Was hunting but he left so we had to finish it for him. She was a women in white, they're spirits who travel back roads and waterways trying to find unfaithful men. They're husbands cheating on them so they did something horrible, Constance murdered her children, and then committed suicide."

"That's terrible." Dawn said, pushing her hair back behind her ears and reaching for a carton of food.

"You got rid of the spirit by driving the Impala into the house?" John asked, shaking his head.

Sam nodded and turned to Dawn. "We found out that she could never go home because she couldn't face her children, so I drove the car into the house while she was in it."

"Why was she in it?" Xander asked.

Sam looked down at his hands. "She was trying to make me unfaithful. She got pissed and wouldn't let me out so I made her get out."

"Nice."

"I bet he didn't' let you drive for a while after that." John said, shaking his head.

Sam smiled. "No he didn't."

"Buffy didn't drive." Dawn said. "Although Faith and Robin taught her when we got to Rome, before they left for Cleveland."

Giles raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

"Yeah, she did okay. I think Faith didn't want to have anything to do with her about twenty minutes in but Robin was patient. Andrew's got it on video." Dawn looked down at her club sandwich.

"We'll find her Dawnie." Willow said and she met eyes with Sam. "We'll find them."


End file.
